QuakeScout
Magnitude6.3

Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea81y ago

M6.3 earthquake 108 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea

Sunday, December 30, 1945, 00:48:40 UTC · 6.156°S, 150.914°E

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 108 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Sunday, December 30, 1945, 00:48:40 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on December 28, 1945.

Magnitude
6.3
Strong · mw
Depth
35 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

40 kilotons of TNT

That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 83 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

40 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Solomon Sea 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 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 83 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 245 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 180 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.532 km SSW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 28, 1945 · 103 km W of this epicenter
  4. 7.497 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaMay 30, 1913 · 166 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.2New Britain region, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1941 · 240 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.1New Britain region, Papua New GuineaDecember 8, 1945 · 82 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.061 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaFebruary 28, 1934 · 95 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 512 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1937

    Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo

    28 May 1937 · 254 km away · intensity VIII

    507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1941M7.4

    Bismarck Sea

    13 Jan 1941 · 255 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1878

    Bismarck Sea

    4 Feb 1878 · 258 km away

    1 deathtsunami

  4. 1906M8.0

    New Britain

    14 Sep 1906 · 231 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1895M7.3

    W. Solomon Sea

    6 Mar 1895 · 265 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1916M7.9

    Solomon Islands

    1 Jan 1916 · 240 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages