In the morning of Saturday April 26th, 2025, a significant M5.1 earthquake hit in the Solomon Sea 48 kilometer from Lae, Papua New Guinea.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, right off the coast of Papua New Guinea (1 mi offshore), 48 kilometer east of Lae in Morobe. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 45 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Apr 26, 2025 08:15 (Port Moresby Time) - Apr 25, 2025 22:15 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 48 km east of Lae, Morobe, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°44'53"S 147°26'3"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 131 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.05 . |
| Depth: | 45 km (28 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 . Located 48 kilometer (30 mi) east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Lae (Morobe, Papua New Guinea) is the nearest significant population center.
An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 48 km (30 mi) W from epicenter |
Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 101 km (63 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Bulolo Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 238 km (148 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. |
| 241 km (150 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Popondetta Northern Province, Papua New Guinea. |
| 249 km (155 mi) NW from epicenter |
Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea. |
Aftershocks detected
This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. Roughly 1 day before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.8 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.8 |
1 day earlier Apr 24, 2025 21:44 (Port Moresby Time) | 53 km (33 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Apr 26, 2025 08:15 (Port Moresby Time) | - |
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 April 22nd, 2025, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 151 km (94 mi) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on September 10th, 2022.
In total, 109 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 month.
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 45 km (28 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 20/05/25 01:18 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000pv4w
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250425_0000407
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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