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M5.9 earthquake near Arawa, Bougainville

Name: M5.9 earthquake near Arawa, Bougainville
Start: 2016-12-18T06:39:42.83+00:00
Location: 125 km W of Panguna, Papua New Guinea

3589 d ago · 18 Dec 2016, 06:39 UTC 125 km W of Panguna, Papua New Guinea

What happened

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 125 km W of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on 18 Dec 2016, 06:39 UTC at a depth of 12 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 Arawa, about 135 km away in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

Timeline

First reported by USGS
16 Oct 2026, 20:47 UTC

Community

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