Significant magnitude 5.7 earthquake 75 km northeast of Lae, Papua New Guinea
Sat, 23 Jan 2021, 03:39
03:39 AM | BY: EARTHQUAKEMONITOR
5.7 quake 23 Jan 1:19 pm (GMT +10)
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, around noon on Saturday 23 January 2021 at 1:19 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) which listed the quake at magnitude 5.7 as well. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 5.7.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Lae (pop. 76,300) located 75 km from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Bulolo (pop. 16,000) located 138 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
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Earthquake data:
I felt this quake
Date & time: 23 Jan 2021 1:19 pm (GMT +10) local time (23 Jan 2021 03:19 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.7
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 6.38°S / 147.58°E

Primary data source: GFZ
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