A significant MAG-5.1 earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean 106 kilometer from Kokopo, Papua New Guinea in the morning of Saturday December 27th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of Papua New Guinea (9 mi offshore), 106 kilometer east-southeast of Kokopo in East New Britain. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 88 km.
| Date and Time: | Dec 27, 2025 09:02 (Port Moresby Time) - Dec 26, 2025 23:02 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 106 km ESE of Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 4°34'6"S 153°12'1"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 98 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.058 . |
| Depth: | 88 km (55 mi) An intermediate 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 . Kokopo in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 106 kilometer (66 mi) east-southeast of Kokopo.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 106 km (66 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Kokopo East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
Risk of aftershocks?
We monitor for foreshocks or aftershocks that have a magnitude of 2.5+ and occur within 100km (62 mi) of the epicenter of this earthquake. So far no such earthquakes have been detected.
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 December 21st, 2025, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 187 km (116 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on January 22nd, 2017.
In total, 233 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 16 days.
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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 88 km (55 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 08/01/26 00:18 (). 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 us7000rkyq
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251226_0000324
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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