A shallow and significant M5.2 earthquake struck in the Solomon Sea 99 kilometer from Kimbe, Papua New Guinea in the early morning of Friday March 28th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, right off the coast of Papua New Guinea (8 mi offshore), 99 kilometer south-southwest of Kimbe in West New Britain. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 14 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Mar 28, 2025 05:42 (Port Moresby Time) - Mar 27, 2025 19:42 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 99 km SSW of Kimbe, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°24'23"S 149°53'32"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 8 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.11 . |
| Depth: | 14 km (9 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 . Located 99 kilometer (62 mi) south-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Kimbe (West New Britain, Papua New Guinea) is the nearest significant population center.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 99 km (62 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Kimbe West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
Shaking reported by 2 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have 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:
- Kimbe, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea: 2 people.
Risk of aftershocks?
We have not yet detected any foreshocks or aftershocks (MAG-2.5 or higher) within 100km (62 mi) of this earthquake.
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 January 24th, 2025, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 291 km (181 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck on May 5th, 2015.
In total, 144 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 25 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 14 km (9 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 01/04/25 19:48 (). 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 us7000pn5l
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250327_0000226
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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