In the Solomon Sea 127 kilometer from Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, a significant M5.1 earthquake occurred in the morning of Sunday January 4th, 2026.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, right off the coast of Papua New Guinea (2 mi offshore), 127 kilometer south of Kokopo in East New Britain. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 34 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Jan 4, 2026 11:23 (Port Moresby Time) - Jan 4, 2026 01:23 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 127 km south of Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 5°28'43"S 152°7'22"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 97 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.058 . |
| Depth: | 34 km (21 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 . Located 127 kilometer (79 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Kokopo (East New Britain, Papua New Guinea) is the nearest significant population center.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 127 km (79 mi) N from epicenter |
Kokopo East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. |
| 220 km (137 mi) W from epicenter |
Kimbe West New Britain, 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 December 21st, 2025, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 33 km (20 mi) further west-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on December 17th, 2016.
In total, 244 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 15 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 34 km (21 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 08/01/26 01:28 (). 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 us7000rmc9
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260104_0000022
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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