On Monday Evening a Strong M6.5 Earthquake struck near Goroka in Papua New Guinea.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 22nd, 2025. Last updated January 7th, 2026.

In the evening of Monday December 22nd, 2025, a strong M6.5 earthquake hit under land 42 kilometer from Goroka in Papua New Guinea. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 4.1 million people.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Papua New Guinea, 42 kilometer (26 mi) north-northeast of Goroka in Eastern Highlands. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 110 km.

Date and Time:	Dec 22, 2025 20:31 (Port Moresby Time) - Dec 22, 2025 10:31 Universal Time.
Location:	42 km NNE of Goroka, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 5°43'12"S 145°29'44"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:	110 km (68 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

This earthquake may have been felt by around 4.1 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VI, which corresponds with strong shaking and probably light damage. Roughly 16,830 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 3.1 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is 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
138,200	III	Weak	Probably none
3,078,000	IV	Light	Likely none
906,400	V	Moderate	Very light
16,830	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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Goroka in Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Goroka is located 42 kilometer (26 mi) north-northeast of the epicenter. 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).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
42 km (26 mi) SSW from epicenter	Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.	V Moderate
64 km (40 mi) NNE from epicenter	Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea.	V Moderate
141 km (88 mi) W from epicenter	Mount Hagen Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
200 km (124 mi) ESE from epicenter	Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
208 km (129 mi) SE from epicenter	Bulolo Morobe, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
209 km (130 mi) WSW from epicenter	Mendi Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.
318 km (198 mi) NW from epicenter	Wewak East Sepik, Papua New Guinea.
451 km (280 mi) SW from epicenter	Daru Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
454 km (282 mi) SE from epicenter	Popondetta Northern 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.

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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 187 km (116 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, 40 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 110 km (68 mi). Earthquakes this deep in the earth are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 07/01/26 11:38 (). 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.