Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea96y ago
M7.0 earthquake 133 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
Friday, January 29, 1932, 13:41:17 UTC · 6.627°S, 154.319°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 133 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Friday, January 29, 1932, 13:41:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on November 4, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
430 kilotons of TNT
That is about 29 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 902 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
2 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.3 on January 30, 1932. 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 37 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 · 209 km N of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 280 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0204 km NNW of Arawa, Papua New GuineaSeptember 1, 1912 · 224 km N of this epicenter
- 7.069 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaNovember 4, 1923 · 281 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9115 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 9, 1932 · 61 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8172 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 3, 1913 · 173 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.869 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaApril 24, 1931 · 64 km E of this epicenter
- 6.795 km S of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 8, 1918 · 268 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1919M8.2
Solomon Islands
6 May 1919 · 209 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M7.9
Solomon Islands
1 Jan 1916 · 287 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1907M7.7
New Britain
4 May 1907 · 119 km away
- 1768M7.5
New Ireland
22 Jun 1768 · 259 km away
tsunami
- 1913M7.5
Solomon Islands
30 May 1913 · 184 km away
- 1923M7.1
Bismarck Archipelago
2 Nov 1923 · 220 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.