Moderate mag. 5.3 earthquake - Solomon Sea, Solomon Islands, 98 km southeast of Arawa, Papua New Guinea, on Sunday, Nov 28, 2021 5:48 am (GMT +11) -
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Moderate magnitude 5.3 earthquake at 49 km depth
27 Nov 18:56 UTC: First to report: RaspberryShake after 8 minutes.
27 Nov 19:00: Magnitude recalculated from 5.4 to 5.3. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 92.7 to 10.0 km (from 58 to 6.2 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 24 km (15 mi) towards W.
3 Dec 16:12: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 52.4 to 49.4 km (from 33 to 31 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 4.1 km (2.6 mi) towards ESE.
27 Nov 19:00: Magnitude recalculated from 5.4 to 5.3. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 92.7 to 10.0 km (from 58 to 6.2 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 24 km (15 mi) towards W.
3 Dec 16:12: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 52.4 to 49.4 km (from 33 to 31 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 4.1 km (2.6 mi) towards ESE.
Update Sat, 27 Nov 2021, 19:09
Magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes near Arawa, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea5.4 quake 28 Nov 5:48 am (GMT +11)
The United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude 5.4 quake in Papua New Guinea near Arawa, Bougainville, only 21 minutes ago. The earthquake hit early morning on Sunday, November 28th, 2021, at 5:48 am local time at a moderately shallow depth of 67.9 km. 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.
A second report was later issued by France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), which listed it as a magnitude 5.6 earthquake. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.4, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.3.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Buin (pop. 750) located 40 km from the epicenter, Panguna (pop. 2,900) 92 km away, Kieta (pop. 3,600) 95 km away, and Arawa (pop. 40,300) 96 km away.
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.
A second report was later issued by France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), which listed it as a magnitude 5.6 earthquake. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.4, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.3.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Buin (pop. 750) located 40 km from the epicenter, Panguna (pop. 2,900) 92 km away, Kieta (pop. 3,600) 95 km away, and Arawa (pop. 40,300) 96 km away.
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.
Earthquake data
Local time at epicenter: Sunday, Nov 28, 2021 5:48 am (GMT +11)
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 49.4 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 7.0307°S / 155.9432°E
(Solomon Sea, Solomon Islands)Antipode: 7.031°N / 24.057°W
Nearest volcano: Loloru (67 km / 42 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
42 km (26 mi) SE of Buin (Papua New Guinea) (pop: 750) --> See nearby quakes!
94 km (59 mi) SSE of Panguna (Papua New Guinea) (pop: 2,920) --> See nearby quakes!
97 km (60 mi) SSE of Kieta (Papua New Guinea) (pop: 3,610) --> See nearby quakes!
98 km (61 mi) SSE of Arawa (Papua New Guinea) (pop: 40,300) --> See nearby quakes!
155 km (96 mi) NW of Gizo (New Georgia Group) (pop: 6,150) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Moderate Rain
28.3°C (83 F), humidity: 75%, wind: 6 m/s (11 kts) from NE
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Moderate Rain
28.3°C (83 F), humidity: 75%, wind: 6 m/s (11 kts) from NEEstimated released energy: 5.6 x 1012 joules (1.56 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 1344 tons of TNT) | about seismic energy
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
| Mag. | Depth | Location | Source |
| 5.3 | 49 km | Solomon Islands: 93 Km SSE of Panguna, Papua New Guinea | USGS |
| 5.3 | 46 km | Solomon Islands | GFZ |
| 5.4 | 80 km | SOLOMON ISLANDS | EMSC |
| 5.6 | 10 km | Solomon Islands: Near Port Moresby | RENASS |
| 5.4 | 68 km | Solomon Islands | RaspberryShake |
| 5.2 | 82 km | Solomon Islands | GeoAu |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Aftershocks
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Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)
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Earlier earthquakes in the same area
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