Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea97y ago
M7.0 earthquake 43 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea
Wednesday, June 11, 1930, 00:49:47 UTC · 6.306°S, 149.164°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 43 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, June 11, 1930, 00:49:47 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
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
401 kilotons of TNT
That is about 27 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 841 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
82 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck 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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on July 5, 1930. 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 26 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 · 215 km W of this epicenter
- 7.638 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaOctober 2, 1906 · 174 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0152 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaMarch 4, 1905 · 186 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0170 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaMarch 4, 1905 · 231 km E of this epicenter
- 6.828 km ENE of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaFebruary 3, 1907 · 122 km W of this epicenter
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 · 79 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 256 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1895M7.3
W. Solomon Sea
6 Mar 1895 · 255 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1899
Bismrack Sea
19 Oct 1899 · 194 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M7.7
New Britain
2 Feb 1920 · 95 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1906M7.2
Bismarck Sea
2 Oct 1906 · 257 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.