M6.1 earthquake hits New Britain, P.N.G.
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
A strong earthquake registered by the EMSC as M6.1 hit the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea at 03:00 UTC on April 13, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 156 km (96 miles). USGS is reporting it as M5.9 at a depth of 147 km (91 miles).
The epicenter was located about 34 km (21 miles) WSW of Kokopo (population 26 273) and 238 km (148 miles) ENE of Kimbe (population 18 847), Papua New Guinea.
There are about 240 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).
548 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking, according to the USGS PAGER.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are informal (metal, timber, GI etc.) and unreinforced brick masonry construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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