Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea88y ago
M7.8 earthquake 85 km S of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
Monday, January 30, 1939, 02:18:30 UTC · 7.086°S, 155.388°E
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 85 km S of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Monday, January 30, 1939, 02:18:30 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.8
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
8.1 megatons of TNT
That is about 538 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 16,982 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
39 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific 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 200 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on February 2, 1939. 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 54 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 139 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0204 km NNW of Arawa, Papua New GuineaSeptember 1, 1912 · 285 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0147 km SSW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMay 7, 1920 · 277 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 29, 1932 · 129 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9160 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaSeptember 23, 1937 · 151 km W of this epicenter
- 6.9115 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 9, 1932 · 150 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8172 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 3, 1913 · 288 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8110 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaDecember 7, 1938 · 149 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 1 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1907M7.7
New Britain
4 May 1907 · 192 km away
- 1913M7.5
Solomon Islands
30 May 1913 · 278 km away
- 1923M7.1
Bismarck Archipelago
2 Nov 1923 · 299 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.