Earthquakes medium

M 5.2 - 66 km E of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea

Source: USGS · Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake was recorded by USGS near 66 km E of Kainantu. On the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program scale, M5.2 is classified "Moderate". Among the 1,720 earthquake reports Areazine has published, this M5.2 event ranks stronger than 74% of them (rank #341 by magnitude).

30 seconds on this earthquake report

Magnitude
M 5.2
USGS class
Moderate
Location
66 km E of Kainantu
Archive rank
#341 of 1,720
Source
USGS
Published
September 14, 2026
MODERATE

Sits above 74% of the 1,720 earthquakes in the archive by magnitude; 340 ran stronger.

Record status: a snapshot from USGS, not a final record. Check USGS's own event page for aftershocks and any later revision to the magnitude shown here.

What Happened

A M 5.2 mb earthquake occurred 66 km E of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea, on August 15, 2026 at 12:46:54 UTC. The event was recorded at latitude -6.2894, longitude 146.4675, with a depth of 125.293 km.

Location Details

The earthquake was centered 66 km east of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea, at coordinates -6.2894°S, 146.4675°E. The depth of 125 km classifies it as a deep earthquake (greater than 70 km).

Impact Assessment

No felt reports were recorded. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami field = 0) and no alert level was issued.

What You Should Know

This was a moderate earthquake. Deep events like this are often felt over wide areas but typically cause less surface damage than shallow quakes.

Source

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000thhd - United States Geological Survey

Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗

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Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.

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Nearest notices by article body length (832 characters here).

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Common Questions

Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.

What was the magnitude of this event? ▾
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 66 km east of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea, at a depth of 125 km.
What does a magnitude 5.2 ("Moderate") earthquake mean? ▾
The USGS classifies M5.2 as "Moderate" on its Earthquake Hazards Program scale. Events in this range are felt over a wide area and can cause significant damage near the epicenter, particularly to older or unreinforced buildings.
How does this compare with other earthquakes Areazine has reported? ▾
This is the #341 strongest of the 1,720 earthquake reports in Areazine's archive by magnitude, stronger than 74% of them and weaker than 340 others.
Was Kainantu likely to feel this earthquake? ▾
This event was centered 66 km E of Kainantu. Shaking intensity falls off sharply with distance from the epicenter and depends on depth and local geology, so check the USGS "Did You Feel It?" report for this event for real felt-shaking data rather than assuming from magnitude and distance alone.

Source data

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