On Friday Afternoon a Strong M6.6 Earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean 124km from Kokopo (Papua New Guinea).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 15th, 2024. Last updated December 21st, 2024.

In the South Pacific Ocean 124 kilometer from Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, a strong MAG-6.6 earthquake occurred in the afternoon of Friday November 15th, 2024. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, 31 kilometers (19 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 124 kilometer east-southeast of Kokopo in East New Britain. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 56 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 15, 2024 15:28 (Port Moresby Time) - Nov 15, 2024 05:28 Universal Time.
Location:	124 km ESE of Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 4°44'22"S 153°18'48"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.6 Detected by 7 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.061 .
Depth:	56 km (35 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

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.	This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.6. Earthquakes of this strength could trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 56 km (35 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 720 thousand people exposed to shaking

An estimated 720 thousand have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

Strong shaking and probably light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 220 people. At VI, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 640 thousand). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Papua New Guinea .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
63,770	III	Weak	Probably none
638,400	IV	Light	Likely none
14,070	V	Moderate	Very light
220	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Papua New Guinea . Kokopo in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 124 kilometer (77 mi) east-southeast of Kokopo. The intensity of shaking and damage in Kokopo is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
124 km (77 mi) WNW from epicenter	Kokopo East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
299 km (186 mi) ESE from epicenter	Arawa Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
363 km (226 mi) WSW from epicenter	Kimbe West New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VI.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 4 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 4 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:

Namatanai, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea: 3 people.
Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.

9 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 9 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 7 km (4 mi) south-southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 5.1

This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. Roughly 3 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-5.3 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 5.3	3 days earlier Nov 13, 2024 00:31 (Port Moresby Time)	92 km (57 mi) W from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 6.6	Nov 15, 2024 15:28 (Port Moresby Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.4	58 mins later Nov 15, 2024 16:26 (Port Moresby Time)	11 km (7 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.6	4 hrs later Nov 15, 2024 19:11 (Port Moresby Time)	22 km (14 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.3	9 hrs later Nov 15, 2024 23:59 (Port Moresby Time)	3 km (2 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.5	12 hrs later Nov 16, 2024 03:57 (Port Moresby Time)	28 km (18 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.6	13 hrs later Nov 16, 2024 04:03 (Port Moresby Time)	21 km (13 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.4	2 days later Nov 17, 2024 04:27 (Port Moresby Time)	34 km (21 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.1	2 days later Nov 17, 2024 05:28 (Port Moresby Time)	45 km (28 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.2	2 days later Nov 17, 2024 19:24 (Port Moresby Time)	52 km (33 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.1	3 days later Nov 18, 2024 04:55 (Port Moresby Time)	7 km (4 mi) SSW 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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 6 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since May 14th, 2019, when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit 110 km (69 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on January 22nd, 2017.

In total, 12 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.6 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 10 months.

Sources

Last updated 21/12/24 03:08 (). 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.