EarthquakeMajor

M6.1 earthquake near Kokopo, East New Britain Province

Name: M6.1 earthquake near Kokopo, East New Britain Province
Start: 1972-01-06T00:30:18.5+00:00
Location: 58 km WSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea

20008 d ago · 6 Jan 1972, 00:30 UTC 58 km WSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 58 km WSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea on 6 Jan 1972, 00:30 UTC at a depth of 162 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was an intermediate-depth earthquake, so shaking is spread over a wider, gentler area.

The nearest town in our records is Kokopo, about 58 km away in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.

Timeline

First reported by USGS
16 Oct 2026, 20:46 UTC

Community

Did you feel it?

Nearby in the last 30 days

4.9
M4.9 earthquake - 121 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
2 d ago35 km deep
Moderate
4.7
M4.7 earthquake - 128 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
2 d ago10 km deep
Moderate
4.6
M4.6 earthquake - 75 km E of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
3 d ago10 km deep
Moderate
6.0
M6.0 earthquake - 126 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
3 d ago21 km deep
Major
5.1
M5.1 earthquake - 123 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
3 d ago37 km deep
Strong
5.3
M5.3 earthquake - 129 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
3 d ago30 km deep
Strong
4.6
M4.6 earthquake - 51 km NNW of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
6 d ago10 km deep
Moderate
4.4
M4.4 earthquake near Kimbe, West New Britain Province
6 d ago57 km deep
Moderate
4.7
M4.7 earthquake - 121 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
7 d ago51 km deep
Moderate
4.9
M4.9 earthquake - 55 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
10 d ago21 km deep
Moderate