M5.1 earthquake - 55 km NNW of Alotau, Papua New Guinea

What happened

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 55 km NNW of Alotau, Papua New Guinea on 18 Sept 2019, 16:10 UTC at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Popondetta, about 248 km away in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.