M6.2 earthquake near Arawa, Bougainville
25717 d ago · 19 May 1956, 01:30 UTC 68 km SSE of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
What happened
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 68 km SSE of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on 19 May 1956, 01:30 UTC at a depth of 35 km.
Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.
The nearest town in our records is Arawa, about 73 km away in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
Timeline
First reported by USGS
16 Oct 2026, 20:46 UTC
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