Shallow M6.0 earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit New Britain, Papua New Guinea at 22:37 UTC on May 17, 2019. The agency is reporting a depth of 21.9 km (13.6 miles). EMSC is reporting M5.9 at a depth of 60 km (37.2 miles).

The epicenter was located 85.7 km (53.3 miles) ESE of Kokopo (population 26 273) and 330.9 km (205.6 miles) SE of Kavieng (population 14 490), Papua New Guinea.

There are 150 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).

2 300 people are estimated to have felt strong shaking.

This is the second M6+ earthquake to hit the region since M7.5 on May 14. 

Regional seismicity

Featured image credit: Google, TW/SAM