M7.5 earthquake 48 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea

Thursday, May 12, 1938, 15:39:06 UTC · 6.222°S, 147.561°E

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 48 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea on Thursday, May 12, 1938, 15:39:06 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on October 2, 1906.

Magnitude: 7.5; 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

3.2 megatons of TNT

That is about 212 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6,683 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

84 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Woodlark 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 40 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 181 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 101 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1873M8.0
Maclay Coast
1873 · 190 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1899
Bismrack Sea
19 Oct 1899 · 144 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1920M7.7
New Britain
2 Feb 1920 · 271 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1938M7.5
Papua New Guinea
12 May 1938 · 36 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers