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5.5MAG

MODERATE EARTHQUAKE

162 km E of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea

USGS

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 162 km E of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea on 05 Sept 2026, 14:12 UTC. The hypocentre was 109 km below the surface — intermediate by seismological convention. No felt reports have been received so far. 12 other earthquakes above our reporting threshold have been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.

Depth
109 km

intermediate

Latitude
4.57°S

153.71°E longitude

Time
14:12 UTC

05 Sept 2026

Magnitude
M5.5

mww

EPICENTRE

View the official report

MAGNITUDE 5.5

Can damage poorly constructed buildings; well-built structures usually escape with little harm.

The scale is logarithmic: this released about 180 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, roughly the energy of 3 thousand tonnes of TNT.

109 KM DEEP

At this depth the energy spreads before it reaches the surface. Shaking is usually weaker than a shallow earthquake of the same size, but it can be felt across a wider area.

NEARBY IN THE PAST 30 DAYS

12 earthquakes above our reporting threshold within 250 km of this one, the largest a magnitude 5.1.

OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES

M5.5 earthquake — Kokopo, Papua New Guinea · Quakewire