A significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the Bismarck Sea 100 kilometer from Lae, Papua New Guinea in the night of Monday August 26th, 2024.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Bismarck Sea, right off the coast of Papua New Guinea (9 mi offshore), 100 kilometer north of Lae in Morobe. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 92 km.
| Date and Time: | Aug 26, 2024 01:35 (Port Moresby Time) - Aug 25, 2024 15:35 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 100 km north of Lae, Morobe, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 5°49'56"S 147°7'55"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 132 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.05 . |
| Depth: | 92 km (57 mi) An intermediate 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 . Located 100 kilometer (62 mi) north of the epicenter of this earthquake, Lae (Morobe, Papua New Guinea) is the nearest significant population center.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 100 km (62 mi) S from epicenter |
Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 162 km (101 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Bulolo Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 164 km (102 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea. |
| 195 km (121 mi) W from epicenter |
Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. |
Shaking reported by 1 person
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place 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:
- Goroka, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. At a distance of 88 km (54 mi) east-northeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.7
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Aug 26, 2024 01:35 (Port Moresby Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.7 |
2 days later Aug 27, 2024 16:07 (Port Moresby Time) | 88 km (54 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major 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 August 15th, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 130 km (81 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on September 10th, 2022.
In total, 136 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 27 days.
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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 92 km (57 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 13/09/24 17:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000n9bs
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240825_0000136
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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