Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea78y ago
M7.2 earthquake 155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
Wednesday, October 19, 1949, 21:00:22 UTC · 5.773°S, 154.194°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, October 19, 1949, 21:00:22 UTC, at a depth of 60.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on September 29, 1946.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · 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: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
985 kilotons of TNT
That is about 65 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,065 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
40 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
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 200 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on October 20, 1949. 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 106 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 · 114 km N of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 207 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 257 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 114 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2205 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaDecember 23, 1943 · 63 km W of this epicenter
- 7.196 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaMay 3, 1946 · 177 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0204 km NNW of Arawa, Papua New GuineaSeptember 1, 1912 · 135 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 517 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 277 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 196 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 295 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 274 km away
1 deathtsunami
- 1919M8.2
Solomon Islands
6 May 1919 · 114 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M7.9
Solomon Islands
1 Jan 1916 · 215 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.