Reviewed by USGS108y ago
M8.2 earthquake 1919 Papua New Guinea Earthquake
Tuesday, May 6, 1919, 19:41:13 UTC · 4.806°S, 153.859°E
A magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck 1919 Papua New Guinea Earthquake on Tuesday, May 6, 1919, 19:41:13 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.2
- Great · mw
- Depth
- 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
25 megatons of TNT
That is about 1,681 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 53,088 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
76 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck 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 400 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on May 7, 1919. 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 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 137 km W of this epicenter
- 7.497 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaMay 30, 1913 · 260 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0204 km NNW of Arawa, Papua New GuineaSeptember 1, 1912 · 87 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0241 km NNE of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaMay 20, 1918 · 292 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8172 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 3, 1913 · 69 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.783 km NE of Rabaul, Papua New GuineaSeptember 30, 1918 · 194 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.795 km S of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 8, 1918 · 171 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6268 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaMay 4, 1907 · 241 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 189 km away
1 deathtsunami
- 1899
New Ireland: East Coast
15 Jan 1899 · 288 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.2
Solomon Islands
6 May 1919 · 0 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M7.9
Solomon Islands
1 Jan 1916 · 145 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1900M6.8
Bismarck Sea
10 Sep 1900 · 225 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1907M7.7
New Britain
4 May 1907 · 300 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.