Severe Earthquake ● Closed
M6.4 Earthquake — 49 km NNE of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea
Loading live data… · Marker positions are approximate; severity is labelled in each popup. Sources: USGS, GDACS, NASA EONET, NOAA/NWS, EMSC.
Magnitude 6.4 earthquake 49 km NNE of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea at a depth of 104.3 km, recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Measurements
| Magnitude | M6.4 |
|---|---|
| Depth | 104.3 km |
| Coordinates | -5.9021, 146.0922 |
| Region | 49 km NNE of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea |
| Felt Reports | 30 |
| Tsunami Flag | 0 |
| Usgs Alert | green |
Measured by
Earthquake data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
This is a scientific measurement of an event that has already happened. It is not a warning, and it does not tell you what to do.
Not rated by source. US Geological Survey does not publish a severity for this; the level shown is our own classification.
View original reportAlso reported by: EMSC EMSC GDACS
This event as JSON · API and licence
Source updated 28 days ago (Sep 21, 2026 05:12 UTC) · we last heard from US Geological Survey 26 seconds ago
On a slow connection? Low-bandwidth version — no map, no scripts, under 14 KB.
Internet connectivity at the time
Internet connectivity in Papua New Guinea dropped 25 hours after this event, and stayed disrupted for about 55 minutes.
From 21 Sep 2026 10:05 UTC to 21 Sep 2026 11:00 UTC. Detected by global routing tables — networks withdrawn from the internet entirely.
Internet outages have many causes — damaged cables, power failures, network maintenance and deliberate shutdowns among them. IODA detects the loss of connectivity and does not attribute it to anything. This is shown because it happened at the same time, not because one caused the other.
Measured by IODA, Georgia Institute of Technology.
What USGS has published since this earthquake
Shaking and its likely impact
USGS estimates fewer than 1,000 people were exposed to strong shaking or worse (intensity VI and above).
USGS's PAGER system gives a green alert for deaths, meaning a low likelihood of casualties; and a green alert for economic losses, meaning a low likelihood of damage. These are estimates from a model of the shaking and the population it reached, not a count.
USGS PAGER, automatic.
Reports of the shaking
USGS received 30 "Did You Feel It?" reports; the strongest shaking reported was intensity VI (strong).
How far the shaking reached
- Light shaking (intensity IV) or more reached at least 140 km from the epicentre, the edge of USGS's map.
USGS ShakeMap, automatic: an estimate built from seismic stations, felt reports and a model where there are neither. Distances are in a straight line from USGS's epicentre; the lines on the map above are USGS's contours, simplified. Shaking varies with the ground, so a place inside a line may have felt less or more.
From the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS event page has the maps and everything USGS has published for this earthquake.
Official authorities in Papua New Guinea
If you are there, these are the bodies whose instructions apply. This site is not an emergency service and does not issue warnings.
More for Papua New Guinea →General safety information
No authority has issued instructions for this event. The guidance below is general background reading, not a response to it.
Drop, Cover, and Hold On — what to do before, during and after an earthquake, plus emergency kit and family plan checklists.
Open Earthquake Safety Guide →Nearby & related events
Disclaimer: figures are automatic feeds from the named agencies and may be revised. Do not use this page for life-safety decisions — follow official local emergency services.