Shallow M5.2 AFTERSHOCK hit in the Solomon Sea 185km from Kimbe (Papua New Guinea) on Saturday Morning.

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

In the morning of Saturday April 5th, 2025, a shallow and significant M5.2 aftershock hit in the Solomon Sea 185 kilometer from Kimbe, Papua New Guinea.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, 52 kilometers (32 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 185 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 08:02 (Port Moresby Time) - Apr 4, 2025 22:02 Universal Time.
Location:	185 km ESE of Kimbe, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°9'22"S 151°41'54"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 148 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.047 .
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 185 kilometer (115 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 is likely an aftershock of the MAG-6.9 earthquake that struck 2 hrs earlier. That main earthquake hit 21 km (13 mi) south-southwest of the epicenter of this MAG-5.2 aftershock.

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.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 196 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 19 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 00:58 (). 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 us6000q446
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250404_0000269
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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