Real-time coverage of earthquake event — 73 km E of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea — Pandita Data.
🌍 OPEN LIVE 3D EARTHQUAKE MAPA magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 73 km east of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, on 25 June 2026 at 06:19 UTC. The rupture occurred at 33 km depth beneath the New Britain region, a zone of intense seismic activity where the Pacific Plate collides with the Australian Plate. The USGS issued a GREEN PAGER alert—indicating minimal expected casualties and economic impact—and no tsunami warning was issued. The shallow-to-intermediate depth and remote epicentre meant ground shaking was felt by sparse populations in the region.
Papua New Guinea sits at one of Earth's most seismically active margins. The Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Australian Plate along the New Britain Trench at a rate of ~10 cm/year. This collision zone has produced some of the region's largest historical earthquakes, including the devastating 1994 Rabaul eruption-earthquake swarm. The 5.5 magnitude event reflects continued strain release along this subduction interface, typical of intermediate-depth intraslab seismicity where the descending Pacific slab fractures internally rather than at the plate boundary itself.
At 5.5 magnitude, this earthquake released approximately 1019 joules of energy—equivalent to 2.4 megatons of TNT. The 33 km depth places it firmly in the intermediate-depth range, where stresses within the cold, brittle subducting plate accumulate and suddenly rupture. Unlike shallow megathrust events that can trigger tsunamis, intermediate-depth ruptures generate intense but more localized ground shaking and pose no water-column displacement risk.
Intermediate-depth (33 km): Deep enough to limit tsunami generation but shallow enough for strong surface shaking in nearby populated areas. Attenuation with distance is less severe than for very deep events. Peak ground acceleration likely reached 0.2–0.4 g near the epicentre.
Kokopo and surrounding settlements lie ~73 km west-northwest of the epicentre. While the distance and depth provided natural attenuation, residents in Rabaul and coastal East New Britain Province experienced moderate shaking. The region's infrastructure—including the strategically important Tokua Airport and local hospitals—remained operational. No structural damage reports were confirmed. Historical context: this margin generated the catastrophic 2000 Gizo earthquake (M7.0) in the Solomon Islands, 400 km southeast, demonstrating the broader seismic hazard of the Melanesian arc system.
Monitor real-time seismic activity and understand how intermediate-depth subduction zone earthquakes propagate through Earth's interior using Pandita Data's 3D Earthquake Simulation—powered by live USGS focal mechanism data and global seismometer networks. Visualize rupture planes, stress release, and wave propagation to deepen your understanding of this dynamic region.