M 5.3 in Papua New Guinea on 20 Dec 2021 01:36 UTC

Event summary

This earthquake can have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID EQ 1302512
Earthquake Magnitude: 5.3M
Depth: 231.78 Km
Lat/Lon: -5.3659 , 146.8427
Event Date: 20 Dec 2021 01:36 UTC
20 Dec 2021 11:36 Local
Exposed Population:
100 thousand in 100km
Inserted at: 20 Dec 2021 01:48 UTC
INFORM Coping capacity:
7.6 (Papua New Guinea)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
  Earthquake GDACS score
NEIC 0 0
us6000gdpm Scaled population (vector) 4.82  
  C1 earthquake 1  
  C2 earthquake 0  
  Country Vulnerability 0  
  INFORM_normalised 1.3  
Maximum expected impact using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Detailed event map. European Union, 2025. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Magnetic Fields Could Be Early Warning That a Tsunami Is on the Way 12/23/2021 10:54:00 PM.

The massive waves called tsunamis can arrive with little notice, making evacuation challenging . A team of earth scientists now report that the devastating walls of water can be predicted by their magnetic fields, which signal the wave’s ar
...(more)
Magnetic Fields Could Signal the Approach of a Tsunami 12/23/2021 10:10:00 PM.

Even before the telltale receding of seawater, a tsunami’s magnetic field arrives. Tsunamis are massive waves that can strike without warning, making evacuation difficult. The devastating walls of water can now be predicted by their magn
...(more)
Moderate magnitude 4.6 quake hits 109 km north of Lae, Papua New Guine.. 12/23/2021 4:10:00 AM.

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake near Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, was reported only 22 minutes ago by the United States Geological Survey, considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The e
...(more)
Light mag. 4.6 earthquake - 108 Km N of Lae, Papua New Guinea, on Thur.. 12/23/2021 4:10:00 AM.

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake near Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, was reported only 22 minutes ago by the United States Geological Survey, considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The e
...(more)

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (41), (3), NEIC (4), OCHA (1), INGV (1), WMO (1), INFORM (2), USGS (2),