M6.0 earthquake hits New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea

A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea at 16:59 UTC on September 16, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 77 km (48 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.

epicenter of m6.0 earthquake new ireland papua new guinea september 16 2025

Epicenter of M6.0 earthquake in Papua New Guinea's New Ireland region on September 16, 2025. Credit: TW/SAM, Google

The epicenter was located 207 km (128 miles) SE of Kokopo (population 26 273), and 218 km (135 miles) WNW of Arawa (population 40 266), Papua New Guinea.

There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.

About 130 000 people are estimated to have been exposed to shaking of intensity IV (light) on the Modified Mercalli scale.

epicenter of m6.0 earthquake new ireland papua new guinea september 16 2025 bg
Epicenter of M6.0 earthquake in Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland region on September 16, 2025. Credit: TW/SAM, Google

Regional seismicity

m6.0 earthquake new ireland papua new guinea september 16 2025 emsc regional seismicity
Image credit: EMSC

References:

1 M6.0 earthquake New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea – USGS – September 16, 2025

2 M6.0 earthquake New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea – EMSC – September 16, 2025

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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