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M6.4 earthquake 50 km NNE of Kainantu, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 50 km NNE of Kainantu, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea at 19:17 local time (09:17 UTC) on 20 Sept 2026, at a depth of 104 km, according to USGS.

30 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-21 09:25 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
6.4strong
moment magnitude (W phase) (mww)
Depth
104.3 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-20 09:17:35 UTC
Local: 20 Sept 2026, 19:17:35 (Pacific/Port Moresby)
Epicentre
5.902° S, 146.092° E

Circles show this event and others within 200 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
PlaceDistanceEst. shaking
KainantuEastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea · pop. 8,50950 kmVModerate
GorokaEastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea · pop. 18,50380 kmIVLight
MadangMadang Province, Papua New Guinea · pop. 27,41983 kmIVLight
LaeMorobe Province, Papua New Guinea · pop. 76,255135 kmIVLight

Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 568 km.

Every agency's solution

Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.

AgencyMagnitudeDepthEpicentreTime offsetStatus
USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey6.4 mww104.3 km5.90° S, 146.09° E–Reviewed

How big was it?

Can cause damage over tens of kilometres, depending on depth, local ground and how buildings are built.

It released roughly the energy of 60 kt of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 104 km this was a intermediate-depth earthquake, which spreads shaking over a wider area but less intensely.

M6.4 releases about 32× the energy of M5.4, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 60 kt of TNT vs 1.9 kt of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M5.4. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

2 later earthquakes within 200 km; the largest was M5.4 8 days ago. 4 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M6.4

2 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
3.475.4116
110.215.354
  1. 5.469 km NNE of Kainantu, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea09-20 12:45
  2. 5.383 km NNE of Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea09-24 23:30

Did you feel it?

Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.

How strong was the shaking where you were?

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

USGS “Did You Feel It?” has 30 reports: add yours at USGS.

Event id us7000tiqc. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:10 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us7000tiqc). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M6.4 earthquake 50 km NNE of Kainantu, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us7000tiqc-m6-4-earthquake-50-km-nne-of-kainantu-eastern-highlands-province-papua-new, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/us7000tiqc. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.