M5.1 earthquake - 80 km NW of Alotau, Papua New Guinea

What happened

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 80 km NW of Alotau, Papua New Guinea on 23 Feb 2019, 17:40 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 220 km away in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.