Under land 141 kilometer from Kokopo in Papua New Guinea, a significant M5.2 earthquake occurred in the evening of Tuesday February 4th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Papua New Guinea, 141 kilometer (88 mi) south-southwest of Kokopo in East New Britain. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 58 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Feb 4, 2025 19:36 (Port Moresby Time) - Feb 4, 2025 09:36 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 141 km SSW of Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 5°32'56"S 151°52'18"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 170 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.044 . |
| Depth: | 58 km (36 mi) A quite 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 Kokopo in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Kokopo is located 141 kilometer (88 mi) south-southwest of the epicenter.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 141 km (88 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Kokopo East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
| 192 km (119 mi) W from epicenter |
Kimbe West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
Aftershocks detected
In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.5 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.5 |
2 days earlier Feb 2, 2025 18:57 (Port Moresby Time) | 45 km (28 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Feb 4, 2025 19:36 (Port Moresby Time) | - |
More earthquakes coming?
Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.
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 January 24th, 2025, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 218 km (135 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on December 17th, 2016.
In total, 217 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 17 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 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 58 km (36 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 05/02/25 06:58 (). 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 us7000pb7j
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250204_0000189
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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