In the Bismarck Sea 91 kilometer from Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, a shallow and significant MAG-5.1 foreshock occurred in the evening of Wednesday January 1st, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Bismarck Sea, 38 kilometers (23 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 91 kilometer northwest of Kokopo in East New Britain. 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: | Jan 1, 2025 22:26 (Port Moresby Time) - Jan 1, 2025 12:26 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 91 km NW of Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 3°43'9"S 151°44'1"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 17 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.075 . |
| 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 . Kokopo in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 91 kilometer (57 mi) northwest of Kokopo.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 91 km (57 mi) SE from epicenter |
Kokopo East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
| 270 km (168 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kimbe West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
This is likely a foreshock
This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.4 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 5.0 |
2 days earlier Jan 1, 2025 03:09 (Port Moresby Time) | 33 km (20 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.6 |
1 day earlier Jan 1, 2025 11:46 (Port Moresby Time) | 84 km (52 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.7 |
1 day earlier Jan 1, 2025 11:47 (Port Moresby Time) | 13 km (8 mi) SSW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.5 |
1 day earlier Jan 1, 2025 12:00 (Port Moresby Time) | 13 km (8 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.9 |
1 day earlier Jan 1, 2025 14:28 (Port Moresby Time) | 50 km (31 mi) WSW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.8 |
1 day earlier Jan 1, 2025 15:27 (Port Moresby Time) | 34 km (21 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.9 |
1 day earlier Jan 1, 2025 17:05 (Port Moresby Time) | 8 km (5 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 5.0 |
21 hrs earlier Jan 1, 2025 19:39 (Port Moresby Time) | 8 km (5 mi) WSW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
19 hrs earlier Jan 1, 2025 22:26 (Port Moresby Time) | 6 km (4 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.9 |
18 hrs earlier Jan 1, 2025 22:37 (Port Moresby Time) | 14 km (8 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.6 |
1 hr earlier Jan 2, 2025 15:48 (Port Moresby Time) | 38 km (23 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock | M 5.4 |
Jan 2, 2025 17:06 (Port Moresby Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 5.0 |
9 hrs later Jan 3, 2025 01:57 (Port Moresby Time) | 17 km (11 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 5.4 |
19 hrs later Jan 3, 2025 11:47 (Port Moresby Time) | 7 km (4 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.6 |
3 days later Jan 5, 2025 11:21 (Port Moresby Time) | 48 km (30 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
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.
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 November 15th, 2024, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 209 km (130 mi) further east-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on December 17th, 2016.
In total, 240 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 15 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 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 19/01/25 14:48 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pgup
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250101_0000143
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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