Strong M6.5 Earthquake hit near Goroka in Papua New Guinea on Monday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 22nd, 2025. Last updated January 29th, 2026.

In the evening of Monday December 22nd, 2025, a strong M6.5 earthquake hit under land 46 kilometer from Goroka in Papua New Guinea. Roughly 4.1 million people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Papua New Guinea, 46 kilometer (29 mi) north-northeast of Goroka in Eastern Highlands. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 107 km.

Date and Time:	Dec 22, 2025 20:31 (Port Moresby Time) - Dec 22, 2025 10:31 Universal Time.
Location:	46 km NNE of Goroka, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 5°42'13"S 145°32'12"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.5 Detected by 50 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.044 .
Depth:	107 km (66 mi) An intermediate depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While a very strong earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 4.1 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 4.1 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Strong shaking and probably light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 17,910 people. At VI, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 3 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Papua New Guinea .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
121,200	III	Weak	Probably none
3,047,000	IV	Light	Likely none
914,300	V	Moderate	Very light
17,910	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Papua New Guinea . Located 46 kilometer (29 mi) north-northeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Goroka (Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Goroka is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
46 km (29 mi) SSW from epicenter	Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.	V Moderate
60 km (37 mi) NNE from epicenter	Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea.	V Moderate
146 km (91 mi) W from epicenter	Mount Hagen Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
197 km (122 mi) SE from epicenter	Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
207 km (129 mi) SE from epicenter	Bulolo Morobe, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
214 km (133 mi) WSW from epicenter	Mendi Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.
319 km (198 mi) NW from epicenter	Wewak East Sepik, Papua New Guinea.
452 km (281 mi) SE from epicenter	Popondetta Northern Province, Papua New Guinea.
455 km (283 mi) SW from epicenter	Daru Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
456 km (283 mi) SSE from epicenter	Port Moresby National Capital, Papua New Guinea.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VI.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 11 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 11 people have reported shaking in 6 places, all within 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:

Kainantu, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 4 people.
Goroka, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 3 people.
Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Kundiawa, Simbu, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Wewak, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Port Moresby, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.

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.

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 are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since October 7th, 2025, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 184 km (114 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on September 10th, 2022.

In total, 8 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.5 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 year.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit inland, 35 km away from coastal areas. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk at 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.	This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5. Earthquakes of this strength could trigger a tsunami.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake occurred at a depth of 107 km (66 mi). Earthquakes this deep in the earth are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 29/01/26 15:18 (). 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.