Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea73y ago
M6.8 earthquake 32 km WNW of Tari, Papua New Guinea
Wednesday, March 3, 1954, 06:03:00 UTC · 5.702°S, 142.692°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 32 km WNW of Tari, Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, March 3, 1954, 06:03:00 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on November 6, 1952.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (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
247 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 519 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
49 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Woodlark and Australian 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 33 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8New Guinea, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 246 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.349 km NNE of Angoram, Papua New GuineaMay 7, 1907 · 286 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.143 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaAugust 7, 1931 · 270 km N of this epicenter
- 7.061 km W of Angoram, Papua New GuineaJune 9, 1925 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.055 km NNW of Ambunti, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 218 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0109 km SSE of Ialibu, Papua New GuineaAugust 3, 1916 · 251 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.042 km ESE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaMay 13, 1920 · 270 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1907M7.4
Bismarck Sea
15 Dec 1907 · 290 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1922M6.9
Bismarck Sea
19 Jan 1922 · 182 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1951M6.1
Bismarck Sea
22 Feb 1951 · 277 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1935M7.8
N-Central
20 Sep 1935 · 252 km away
tsunami
- 1916M7.5
N Coast
3 Aug 1916 · 276 km away
- 1917M7.5
Papua New Guinea
29 Jul 1917 · 246 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.