Strong magnitude 5.2 earthquake at unknown depth7 May 01:35 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 12 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeMay 7, 2026 01:22:52 UTC - Local time at epicenterThursday, May 7, 2026, at 01:22 am (Universal Time GMT +0)Statusunconfirmed (uncertain whether an earthquake with these data happened)Magnitude5.22Depth10 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude5.695°S / 154.173°EPapua New GuineaSeismic antipode5.695°N / 25.827°WShaking intensityV Moderate shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceGFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)Nearest volcanoTore (85 km / 53 mi)Estimated seismic energy released4 x 1012 joules (1.11 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 951 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 5.2 | about seismic energy13 minutes agoMay 7, 2026 01:22 GMT / May 7, 2026 01:22 am (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: -5.695 / 154.173: Papua New Guinea: Solomon IslandsSource: GFZDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22978908',-5.69500,154.17300,'13 minutes ago: Mag. 5.2, Papua New Guinea: Solomon Islands',html,'quakes-7-24.png',30,30,15,15,126]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Papua New GuineaNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Panguna, a town with 2,900 inhabitants in Papua New Guinea, in 161 km (100 mi) distance southeast of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. In the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, 881 km (547 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake could not be felt.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry161 km (100 mi)SE of epicenterPanguna(pop: 2,920)III: WeakBougainvillePapua New Guinea165 km (103 mi)E of epicenterArawa(pop: 40,300)III: WeakBougainvillePapua New Guinea205 km (127 mi)SE of epicenterBuin(pop: 750)III: WeakSouth Bougainville, BougainvillePapua New Guinea259 km (161 mi)NW of epicenterKokopo(pop: 26,300)III: WeakEast New Britain ProvincePapua New Guinea271 km (168 mi)SE of epicenterTaro(pop: 1,050)II: Very weakBatava, ChoiseulSolomon Islands278 km (173 mi)NW of epicenterRabaul(pop: 8,070)II: Very weakEast New Britain ProvincePapua New Guinea296 km (184 mi)NW of epicenterNamatanai(pop: 1,540)II: Very weakNew Ireland ProvincePapua New Guinea338 km (210 mi)NW of epicenterLondolovit(pop: 1,640)II: Very weakNew Ireland ProvincePapua New Guinea398 km (247 mi)SE of epicenterGizo(pop: 7,180)II: Very weakWestern ProvinceSolomon Islands410 km (255 mi)S of epicenterKulumadau(pop: 2,500)II: Very weakMilne Bay ProvincePapua New Guinea437 km (271 mi)SE of epicenterNoro(pop: 7,200)II: Very weakWestern ProvinceSolomon Islands447 km (278 mi)W of epicenterKimbe(pop: 18,800)II: Very weakWest New Britain ProvincePapua New Guinea450 km (280 mi)SE of epicenterMunda(pop: 3,140)II: Very weakWestern ProvinceSolomon Islands511 km (317 mi)NW of epicenterKavieng(pop: 14,500)II: Very weakNew Ireland ProvincePapua New Guinea515 km (320 mi)W of epicenterKandrian(pop: 1,010)II: Very weakWest New Britain ProvincePapua New Guinea657 km (408 mi)SW of epicenterAlotau(pop: 10,000)II: Very weakMilne Bay ProvincePapua New Guinea657 km (409 mi)SE of epicenterBuala(pop: 2,700)II: Very weakIsabel ProvinceSolomon Islands669 km (416 mi)SW of epicenterSamarai(pop: 1,640)II: Very weakMilne Bay ProvincePapua New Guinea881 km (547 mi)SW of epicenterPort Moresby(pop: 283,700)I: Not feltNational Capital DistrictPapua New GuineaNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe 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.MagDepthTime GMT2026-05-7EpicenterAgency5.2210 km6.2 mi(*)01:22:52.19Solomon IslandsGFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)Notes:(*) A depth given as 10 km often means that the the depth of the quake could be not determined with sufficient accuracy.Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 16 km2 (6 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 7 km (4 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)May 7, 2026 01:22 am (Universal Time)13 minutes ago5.210 km0 km - This quakePapua New Guinea: Solomon IslandsMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 50 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.07 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 14.1 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.69 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 1.4 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 9.8 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 54 quakes per year (or 4.5 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 95 quakes per year (or 7.9 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 95 quakes per year (or 7.9 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 9 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 10 to 15 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake