Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea93y ago
M6.3 earthquake 129 km WNW of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
Tuesday, March 20, 1934, 02:38:28 UTC · 5.074°S, 149.068°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 129 km WNW of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, March 20, 1934, 02:38:28 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on February 28, 1934.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- 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
47 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 99 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
174 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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 41 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01906 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeSeptember 14, 1906 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.638 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaOctober 2, 1906 · 214 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 174 km N of this epicenter
- 7.497 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaMay 30, 1913 · 273 km E of this epicenter
- 7.061 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaFebruary 28, 1934 · 178 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0152 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaMarch 4, 1905 · 49 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 214 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 234 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1899
Bismrack Sea
19 Oct 1899 · 119 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M7.7
New Britain
2 Feb 1920 · 189 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1906M7.2
Bismarck Sea
2 Oct 1906 · 120 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1933
Papua New Guinea
12 Dec 1933 · 214 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.