Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea107y ago
M7.0 earthquake 42 km ESE of Wewak, Papua New Guinea
Thursday, May 13, 1920, 01:48:44 UTC · 3.650°S, 144.000°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 42 km ESE of Wewak, Papua New Guinea on Thursday, May 13, 1920, 01:48:44 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on July 3, 1918.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very 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
415 kilotons of TNT
That is about 28 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 871 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
4 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Woodlark plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 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 11 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 · 78 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 252 km W of this epicenter
- 7.349 km NNE of Angoram, Papua New GuineaMay 7, 1907 · 27 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1132 km NNE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaAugust 26, 1906 · 131 km N of this epicenter
- 7.165 km ENE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaApril 27, 1909 · 42 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.073 km ENE of Vanimo, Papua New GuineaDecember 15, 1907 · 272 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.887 km NNE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaJune 4, 1913 · 87 km N of this epicenter
- 6.760 km NNE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1918 · 74 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1907M7.4
Bismarck Sea
15 Dec 1907 · 177 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1916M7.5
N Coast
3 Aug 1916 · 68 km away
- 1917M7.5
Papua New Guinea
29 Jul 1917 · 252 km away
tsunami
- 1918M7.5
N Coast
3 Jul 1918 · 167 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.