Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea14d ago
M4.6 earthquake 143 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 12:46:16 UTC · 5.114°S, 153.311°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 143 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea on Saturday, September 12, 2026, 12:46:16 UTC, at a depth of 41.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on September 6, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 41 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
6 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
41 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 3,205 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21919 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeMay 6, 1919 · 70 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 31 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 73 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.02000 New Ireland EarthquakeNovember 16, 2000 · 179 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 86 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.935 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 22, 2017 · 241 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.9140 km E of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaDecember 17, 2016 · 72 km N of this epicenter
- 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 253 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 53 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 534 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 154 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 163 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 173 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 78 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 2017M7.9
Bougainville Island
22 Jan 2017 · 241 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2000M8.0
New Ireland, Duke Of York
16 Nov 2000 · 165 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.