A very deep magnitude 6.5 earthquake was reported early afternoon near Kimbe, Talasea District, West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake hit on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023, at 3:36 pm local time at a great depth of 583 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 Geoscience Australia (GeoAu) which listed the quake at magnitude 6.5 as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) at magnitude 6.4, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 6.3, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 6.2, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 6.5.
