M5.1 earthquake 262 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 262 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea on Wed, Jan 21, 1981, 12:42 PM GMT+9 (03:42 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 255 km SW of Abepura, Indonesia. This one was a foreshock.

Wamena forecast More in Papua New Guinea

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.1 (mb), moderate
Local time: Wed, Jan 21, 1981, 12:42 PM GMT+9
UTC: 1981-01-21 03:42:48 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 4.729° S, 139.370° E
Region: Papua New Guinea
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used: 20

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Papua New Guinea earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bub. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:09 PM UTC.