In the night of Monday May 11th, 2026, a significant Magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit under land 17 kilometer from Madang in Papua New Guinea.
Felt the earthquake? Share this article: 
Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Papua New Guinea, 17 kilometer (11 mi) southwest of Madang. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 93 km.
| Date and Time: | May 11, 2026 02:34 (Port Moresby Time) - May 10, 2026 16:34 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 17 km SW of Madang, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 5°17'6"S 145°38'53"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 34 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.053 . |
| Depth: | 93 km (58 mi) An intermediate depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (12 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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Madang in Madang, Papua New Guinea. Madang is located 17 kilometer (11 mi) southwest of the epicenter.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 17 km (11 mi) NE from epicenter |
Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea. |
| 94 km (58 mi) S from epicenter |
Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. |
| 169 km (105 mi) SW from epicenter |
Mount Hagen Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea. |
| 219 km (136 mi) SE from epicenter |
Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 240 km (149 mi) SW from epicenter |
Mendi Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. |
| 240 km (149 mi) SE from epicenter |
Bulolo Morobe, Papua New Guinea. |
| 295 km (183 mi) NW from epicenter |
Wewak East Sepik, Papua New Guinea. |
Shaking reported by 6 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 6 people have reported shaking in 4 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:
- Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 2 people.
- Kainantu, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 2 people.
- Madang, Madang, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
- Goroka, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.4 was detected 20 km (13 mi) south-east of this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.3 |
May 11, 2026 02:34 (Port Moresby Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.4 |
1 day later May 12, 2026 07:59 (Port Moresby Time) | 20 km (13 mi) SE 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 February 25th, 2026, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 27 km (17 mi) further east. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on September 10th, 2022.
In total, 111 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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 month.
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 (12 km from the sea). | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 93 km (58 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 30/05/26 18:38 (). 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 us6000swr6
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260510_0000348
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
Share this article:
