A significant MAG-5.1 aftershock struck under land 288 kilometer from Wewak in Papua New Guinea in the night of Sunday May 4th, 2025. Another nearby country is Indonesia.
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Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Papua New Guinea, 288 kilometer (179 mi) west of Wewak in East Sepik. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | May 4, 2025 02:04 (Jayapura Time) - May 3, 2025 17:04 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 91 km SSE of Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia. Coordinates 3°16'41"S 141°2'53"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 194 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.041 . |
| Depth: | 35 km (22 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.
Located 89 kilometer (55 mi) south-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Abepura (Papua, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 89 km (55 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Abepura Papua, Indonesia. |
| 91 km (57 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Jayapura Papua, Indonesia. |
| 288 km (179 mi) E from epicenter |
Wewak East Sepik, 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 2 places 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:
- Aitape, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
- Vanimo, Sandaun, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
This is likely an aftershock
This earthquake was an aftershock. A larger mag. 5.2 earthquake struck 12 km (7 mi) north in advance of this 5.1 earthquake around 12 hrs earlier.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 2.7 |
2 days earlier May 2, 2025 02:10 (Jayapura Time) | 78 km (48 mi) WSW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.0 |
16 hrs earlier May 2, 2025 22:28 (Jayapura Time) | 71 km (44 mi) NNW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock | M 5.2 |
May 3, 2025 14:10 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.9 |
16 mins later May 3, 2025 14:27 (Jayapura Time) | 15 km (10 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.4 |
3 hrs later May 3, 2025 17:01 (Jayapura Time) | 24 km (15 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.4 |
4 hrs later May 3, 2025 18:19 (Jayapura Time) | 17 km (11 mi) ESE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.1 |
4 hrs later May 3, 2025 18:36 (Jayapura Time) | 27 km (17 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.9 |
5 hrs later May 3, 2025 18:57 (Jayapura Time) | 29 km (18 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.3 |
7 hrs later May 3, 2025 21:21 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (6 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.2 |
7 hrs later May 3, 2025 21:39 (Jayapura Time) | 28 km (17 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
12 hrs later May 4, 2025 02:04 (Jayapura Time) | 12 km (7 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.4 |
12 hrs later May 4, 2025 02:39 (Jayapura Time) | 32 km (20 mi) SSW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.3 |
14 hrs later May 4, 2025 04:39 (Jayapura Time) | 28 km (18 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.3 |
18 hrs later May 4, 2025 08:03 (Jayapura Time) | 28 km (17 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.3 |
1 day later May 4, 2025 23:33 (Jayapura Time) | 27 km (17 mi) WNW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.2 |
2 days later May 5, 2025 23:03 (Jayapura Time) | 31 km (19 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.3 |
3 days later May 6, 2025 06:08 (Jayapura Time) | 16 km (10 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.5 |
3 days later May 6, 2025 11:52 (Jayapura Time) | 16 km (10 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.0 |
3 days later May 6, 2025 18:05 (Jayapura Time) | 28 km (17 mi) E from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
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.
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. In total, 69 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 2 months.
Tsunami very unlikely
While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always 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 | Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast. |
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 35 km (22 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 23/05/25 02:38 (). 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 us7000pwxj
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250503_0000273
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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