Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea59y ago
M5.9 earthquake 157 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
Tuesday, January 2, 1968, 00:21:12 UTC · 5.175°S, 153.421°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 157 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, January 2, 1968, 00:21:12 UTC, at a depth of 60.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on December 25, 1967.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 60 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 25 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
13 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
60 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on January 7, 1968. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 239 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 · 64 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 100 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 157 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 10 km W of this epicenter
- 7.467 km E of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaApril 23, 1953 · 101 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.497 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaMay 30, 1913 · 216 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3102 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaOctober 10, 1955 · 64 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3192 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaDecember 25, 1967 · 37 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 512 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 168 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 186 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 166 km away
1 deathtsunami
- 1967M6.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Aug 1967 · 134 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1899
New Ireland: East Coast
15 Jan 1899 · 289 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.2
Solomon Islands
6 May 1919 · 64 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.