An intermediate to deep magnitude 5.2 earthquake was reported in the afternoon near Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Saturday, July 4th, 2026, at 5:50 pm local time at an intermediate to considerable depth of 188. km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. 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 which listed the quake at magnitude 5.3. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.2, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.2.Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Lae (pop. 76,300) located 128 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.Earthquake data: Date & time: Jul 4, 2026 07:50 am (Universal Time) local time (4 Jul 2026 07:50 GMT)Magnitude: 5.2Depth: 188.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 5.54°S / 147.19°E (Papua New Guinea)Primary data source: EMSC