Shallow M5.6 Earthquake hit near Mendi in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday Night.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 26th, 2026. Last updated February 18th, 2026.

Under land 47 kilometer from Mendi in Papua New Guinea, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred deep in the night of Tuesday January 27th, 2026. Roughly 3.8 million people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Papua New Guinea, 47 kilometer (29 mi) south-southwest of Mendi in Southern Highlands. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 19 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 27, 2026 03:06 (Port Moresby Time) - Jan 26, 2026 17:06 Universal Time.
Location:	47 km SSW of Mendi, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 6°33'42"S 143°33'56"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 34 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.053 .
Depth:	19 km (12 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. 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 3.8 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 3.8 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.

An estimated 14,730 people were exposed to level VI. At this level, strong shaking and probably light damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 2 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably 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
7,210	II	Very weak	None
2,047,000	III	Weak	Probably none
1,588,000	IV	Light	Likely none
129,600	V	Moderate	Very light
14,730	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 Mendi in Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Mendi is located 47 kilometer (29 mi) south-southwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Mendi 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)
47 km (29 mi) NNE from epicenter	Mendi Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.	V Moderate
107 km (66 mi) NE from epicenter	Mount Hagen Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea.	IV Light
208 km (129 mi) ENE from epicenter	Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.
283 km (176 mi) S from epicenter	Daru Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
287 km (178 mi) ENE from epicenter	Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

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 3 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 3 people have reported shaking in 3 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:

Goroka, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Kundiawa, Simbu, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Kainantu, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.

3 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 3 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 9 km (6 mi) northwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 5 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 4.6

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.6	Jan 27, 2026 03:06 (Port Moresby Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.4	15 mins later Jan 27, 2026 03:20 (Port Moresby Time)	37 km (23 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.2	51 mins later Jan 27, 2026 03:57 (Port Moresby Time)	20 km (12 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.6	5 hrs later Jan 27, 2026 07:53 (Port Moresby Time)	9 km (6 mi) NW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

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 January 20th, 2026, when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit 300 km (186 mi) further east-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck on February 25th, 2018.

In total, 25 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 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 5 months.

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 under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of 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.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 19 km (12 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 18/02/26 19:48 (). 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.