Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea121y ago
M6.6 earthquake 175 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
Monday, September 17, 1906, 08:38:08 UTC · 4.366°S, 149.091°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 175 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Monday, September 17, 1906, 08:38:08 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.0 on September 14, 1906.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · 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
128 kilotons of TNT
That is about 9 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 269 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
96 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01906 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeSeptember 14, 1906 · 295 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 101 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.299 km WNW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaMay 18, 1905 · 251 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0152 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaMarch 4, 1905 · 30 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 293 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 264 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1899
Bismrack Sea
19 Oct 1899 · 140 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1906M7.2
Bismarck Sea
2 Oct 1906 · 42 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1905M7.5
Bismarck Sea
18 May 1905 · 42 km away
- 1900M7.1
Rabaul Harbor
17 Sep 1900 · 140 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.