Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea97y ago
M5.9 earthquake 49 km WNW of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea
Saturday, July 5, 1930, 17:56:55 UTC · 5.980°S, 149.160°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 49 km WNW of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea on Saturday, July 5, 1930, 17:56:55 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on June 23, 1930.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 26 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
117 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 31 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 · 217 km W of this epicenter
- 7.638 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaOctober 2, 1906 · 178 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 270 km N of this epicenter
- 7.497 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaMay 30, 1913 · 292 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0152 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaMarch 4, 1905 · 150 km N 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 · 115 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 245 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1895M7.3
W. Solomon Sea
6 Mar 1895 · 288 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1899
Bismrack Sea
19 Oct 1899 · 168 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M7.7
New Britain
2 Feb 1920 · 109 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1906M7.2
Bismarck Sea
2 Oct 1906 · 221 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.