A shallow and significant M5.2 earthquake struck in the Solomon Sea 33 kilometer from Lae, Papua New Guinea in the evening of Thursday August 15th, 2024.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, right off the coast of Papua New Guinea (5 mi offshore), 33 kilometer south-southeast of Lae in Morobe. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Aug 15, 2024 23:13 (Port Moresby Time) - Aug 15, 2024 13:13 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 33 km SSE of Lae, Morobe, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°59'57"S 147°5'36"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 16 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.078 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Papua New Guinea . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Lae in Morobe, Papua New Guinea. Lae is located 33 kilometer (21 mi) south-southeast of the epicenter.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 33 km (21 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 55 km (34 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Bulolo Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 214 km (133 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. |
| 233 km (145 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Popondetta Northern Province, Papua New Guinea. |
| 245 km (152 mi) NW from epicenter |
Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea. |
| 276 km (171 mi) S from epicenter |
Port Moresby National Capital, Papua New Guinea. |
Shaking reported by 3 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 3 people have reported shaking in 2 places in Papua New Guinea.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.
Places with most reports:
- Lae, Morobe, Papua New Guinea: 2 people.
- Bulolo, Morobe, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Risk of aftershocks?
We have not yet detected any foreshocks or aftershocks (MAG-2.5 or higher) within 100km (62 mi) of this earthquake.
Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.
It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).Earthquakes like this happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since May 21st, 2024, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 80 km (50 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on September 10th, 2022.
In total, 82 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 2 months.
Low tsunami risk
Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 13/09/24 02:08 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000n75k
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240815_0000153
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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