Shallow M5.0 AFTERSHOCK struck on Saturday Morning in the Solomon Sea 169km from Kimbe (Papua New Guinea).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 4th, 2025. Last updated April 28th, 2025.

A shallow and significant MAG-5.0 aftershock struck in the Solomon Sea 169 kilometer from Kimbe, Papua New Guinea in the morning of Saturday April 5th, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, 47 kilometers (29 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 169 kilometer east-southeast of Kimbe in West 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:	Apr 5, 2025 07:14 (Port Moresby Time) - Apr 4, 2025 21:14 Universal Time.
Location:	169 km ESE of Kimbe, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°14'26"S 151°29'52"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.0 Detected by 59 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.074 .
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 . Located 169 kilometer (105 mi) east-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Kimbe (West New Britain, Papua New Guinea) is the nearest significant population center.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake was an aftershock. A larger mag. 6.9 earthquake struck 13 km (8 mi) south-east in advance of this 5.0 earthquake around 1 hr earlier.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 482 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 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 8 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

Sources

Last updated 28/04/25 02:38 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000q43j
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250404_0000260
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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