Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea121y ago
M7.6 earthquake 38 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea
Tuesday, October 2, 1906, 01:51:51 UTC · 6.321°S, 147.589°E
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck 38 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, October 2, 1906, 01:51:51 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.0 on September 14, 1906.
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
4.2 megatons of TNT
That is about 279 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 8,810 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
77 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Woodlark plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 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 5 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 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 173 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 112 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1873M8.0
Maclay Coast
1873 · 198 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1899
Bismrack Sea
19 Oct 1899 · 154 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1900M7.1
Rabaul Harbor
17 Sep 1900 · 154 km away
tsunami
- 1875M7.0
Maclay Coast
1875 · 74 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.