QuakeScout
Magnitude6.3

Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea78y ago

M6.3 earthquake 210 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea

Friday, October 21, 1949, 21:34:25 UTC · 5.529°S, 153.752°E

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 210 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea on Friday, October 21, 1949, 21:34:25 UTC, at a depth of 60.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on October 20, 1949.

Magnitude
6.3
Strong · 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

46 kilotons of TNT

That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 95 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

23 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 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 118 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.21919 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeMay 6, 1919 · 81 km N of this epicenter
  2. 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 151 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 250 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 202 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 58 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 7.497 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaMay 30, 1913 · 261 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.2155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaOctober 19, 1949 · 56 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.2New Britain region, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1941 · 246 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 517 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1937

    Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo

    28 May 1937 · 221 km away · intensity VIII

    507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1939M7.7

    Bougainville Island

    30 Jan 1939 · 250 km away

    5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1941M7.4

    Bismarck Sea

    13 Jan 1941 · 239 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1878

    Bismarck Sea

    4 Feb 1878 · 219 km away

    1 deathtsunami

  5. 1919M8.2

    Solomon Islands

    6 May 1919 · 81 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1916M7.9

    Solomon Islands

    1 Jan 1916 · 160 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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