Observed earthquake
121 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
Recent observationReported by 3 agencies. Every solution below is that agency's own measurement, stored unaltered.
Agency solutions
The same earthquake as measured independently by each agency. Values are never averaged or rewritten.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Origin time | Epicentre | Review status | Source record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEOFONGFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences | M5.4 mb | 44 km | 2026-10-09 20:20:11 UTC | 5.18°S, 151.83°E | Not stated | gfz2026tuyp ↗ |
| EMSCEuropean-Mediterranean Seismological Centre | M4.7 mb | 51 km | 2026-10-09 20:20:09 UTC | 5.43°S, 152.11°E | Not stated | 20261009_0000323 ↗ |
| USGSUnited States Geological Survey | M4.7 mb | 51 km | 2026-10-09 20:20:09 UTC | 5.43°S, 152.11°E | Reviewed by an analyst68 stations | us6000u19v ↗ |
Source: Earthquake solutions from the GEOFON programme, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences. · Retrieved: 2026-10-09 21:32:34 UTC · grouped with match confidence 100%
Source: Earthquake data from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) via SeismicPortal. · Retrieved: 2026-10-09 21:32:32 UTC
Source: Earthquake data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. · Retrieved: 2026-10-09 22:49:35 UTC
Why the agencies differ
Differences of a few tenths of a magnitude unit and tens of kilometres are normal and expected. Each agency uses a different set of seismic stations, a different velocity model for the Earth's interior, and sometimes a different magnitude scale altogether. None of them is “wrong”; they are independent measurements of the same event.
Prakruti groups solutions only when they agree closely in both time and location, and shows the preferred solution — favouring an analyst-reviewed moment magnitude where one exists — while keeping every other solution visible above.