Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea55y ago
M5.6 earthquake 54 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
Saturday, April 29, 1972, 23:06:38 UTC · 6.544°S, 155.050°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 54 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Saturday, April 29, 1972, 23:06:38 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on April 28, 1972.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- IV
- Light (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
47 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and North Bismarck 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 229 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21919 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeMay 6, 1919 · 234 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 278 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 178 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 71 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 241 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3102 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaOctober 10, 1955 · 293 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3166 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 12, 1968 · 229 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 203 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 70 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 172 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 149 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1971M8.1
Bismarck Sea Rabaul
26 Jul 1971 · 278 km away · intensity VI
$1 million damagetsunami
- 1919M8.2
Solomon Islands
6 May 1919 · 234 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.8
New Ireland
12 Feb 1968 · 235 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.