Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea102y ago
M6.3 earthquake 44 km S of Ambunti, Papua New Guinea
Friday, June 12, 1925, 10:58:22 UTC · 4.615°S, 142.868°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 44 km S of Ambunti, Papua New Guinea on Friday, June 12, 1925, 10:58:22 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on June 9, 1925.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · 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
37 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 78 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
160 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Woodlark 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 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 14 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.650 km N of Wewak, Papua New GuineaJuly 3, 1918 · 186 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 162 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.349 km NNE of Angoram, Papua New GuineaMay 7, 1907 · 187 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1132 km NNE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaAugust 26, 1906 · 278 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.165 km ENE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaApril 27, 1909 · 204 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.061 km W of Angoram, Papua New GuineaJune 9, 1925 · 90 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.042 km ESE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaMay 13, 1920 · 165 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.073 km ENE of Vanimo, Papua New GuineaDecember 15, 1907 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1907M7.4
Bismarck Sea
15 Dec 1907 · 173 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1922M6.9
Bismarck Sea
19 Jan 1922 · 287 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M7.5
N Coast
3 Aug 1916 · 193 km away
- 1917M7.5
Papua New Guinea
29 Jul 1917 · 162 km away
tsunami
- 1918M7.5
N Coast
3 Jul 1918 · 131 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.