Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea83y ago
M6.5 earthquake 156 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
Friday, December 24, 1943, 01:48:03 UTC · 5.887°S, 154.142°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 156 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Friday, December 24, 1943, 01:48:03 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on December 23, 1943.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
76 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 160 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
40 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
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on December 25, 1943. 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 89 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 · 124 km N of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 210 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 192 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 257 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2205 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaDecember 23, 1943 · 63 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0204 km NNW of Arawa, Papua New GuineaSeptember 1, 1912 · 149 km N of this epicenter
- 7.069 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaNovember 4, 1923 · 205 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 29, 1932 · 85 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 280 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 191 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 298 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 278 km away
1 deathtsunami
- 1919M8.2
Solomon Islands
6 May 1919 · 124 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M7.9
Solomon Islands
1 Jan 1916 · 218 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.