Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea123y ago
M7.2 earthquake 99 km WNW of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
Thursday, May 18, 1905, 13:45:27 UTC · 2.282°S, 149.949°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 99 km WNW of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea on Thursday, May 18, 1905, 13:45:27 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on January 13, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
801 kilotons of TNT
That is about 53 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,679 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
105 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and Manus plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1899
New Ireland: East Coast
15 Jan 1899 · 241 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1900M6.8
Bismarck Sea
10 Sep 1900 · 297 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1905M7.5
Bismarck Sea
18 May 1905 · 218 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.