A significant MAG-5.3 earthquake struck in the Solomon Sea 80 kilometer from Arawa, Papua New Guinea in the night of Thursday December 11th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, 24 kilometers (15 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 80 kilometer west-southwest of Arawa in Bougainville. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 107 km.
| Date and Time: | Dec 11, 2025 00:30 (Bougainville Time) - Dec 10, 2025 13:30 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 80 km WSW of Arawa, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°23'32"S 154°51'49"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 64 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.072 . |
| Depth: | 107 km (67 mi) An intermediate depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 at depths deeper than 100km are very unlikely to 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 Arawa in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Arawa is located 80 kilometer (50 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 80 km (50 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Arawa Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. |
Risk of aftershocks?
This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.
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. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since September 16th, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 159 km (99 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on January 22nd, 2017.
In total, 104 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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.
Tsunami very unlikely
For a serious tsunami to occur, earthquakes usually need to have a magnitude of at least 6.5 and occur at a shallow depth of maximum 100km. Neither are the case with this earthquake. 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 | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
Not this earthquake. This earthquake occurred at a depth of 107 km (67 mi). Earthquakes this deep in the earth are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 13/12/25 13:28 (). 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 us6000rtvs
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251210_0000221
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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