M5.3 earthquake near Popondetta, Oro Province

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 117 km SSE of Popondetta, Papua New Guinea on 18 Sept 2021, 20:47 UTC at a depth of 20 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 117 km away in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.