In the Solomon Sea 142 kilometer from Lae, Papua New Guinea, a significant Magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred in the afternoon of Thursday October 23rd, 2025.
Felt the earthquake? Share this article: 
Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, 46 kilometers (29 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 142 kilometer east of Lae in Morobe. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 63 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Oct 23, 2025 14:07 (Port Moresby Time) - Oct 23, 2025 04:07 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 142 km east of Lae, Morobe, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°39'15"S 148°17'3"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 33 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.1 . |
| Depth: | 63 km (39 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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Lae in Morobe, Papua New Guinea. Lae is located 142 kilometer (88 mi) east of the epicenter.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 142 km (88 mi) W from epicenter |
Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 191 km (119 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Bulolo Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 235 km (146 mi) S from epicenter |
Popondetta Northern Province, Papua New Guinea. |
| 239 km (149 mi) ENE 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:
- Port Moresby, National Capital District, 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.
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.
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 October 7th, 2025, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 163 km (101 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on September 10th, 2022.
In total, 91 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 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 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 63 km (39 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 09/11/25 05:38 (). 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 us6000rit3
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251023_0000045
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
Share this article:
