A shallow and significant MAG-5.1 earthquake struck under land 83 kilometer from Kokopo in Papua New Guinea deep in the night of Thursday February 12th, 2026.
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Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Papua New Guinea, 83 kilometer (52 mi) east of Kokopo in East New Britain. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Feb 12, 2026 03:43 (Port Moresby Time) - Feb 11, 2026 17:43 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 83 km east of Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 4°13'37"S 153°0'18"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 124 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.051 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (4 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Papua New Guinea . Located 83 kilometer (52 mi) east 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 |
|---|---|
| 83 km (52 mi) W from epicenter |
Kokopo East 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 January 4th, 2026, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 169 km (105 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on December 17th, 2016.
In total, 219 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 17 days.
Tsunami very unlikely
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 | This earthquake appears to have struck on land near a coastal area (4 km from 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 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 11/02/26 22:28 (). 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 us6000s7v9
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260211_0000289
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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