Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea110y ago
M7.5 earthquake 93 km SW of Aitape, Papua New Guinea
Sunday, July 29, 1917, 21:52:31 UTC · 3.705°S, 141.729°E
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 93 km SW of Aitape, Papua New Guinea on Sunday, July 29, 1917, 21:52:31 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
- 7.5
- Major · 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2.3 megatons of TNT
That is about 150 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4,732 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
126 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.349 km NNE of Angoram, Papua New GuineaMay 7, 1907 · 279 km E of this epicenter
- 7.165 km ENE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaApril 27, 1909 · 274 km E of this epicenter
- 7.073 km ENE of Vanimo, Papua New GuineaDecember 15, 1907 · 147 km N of this epicenter
- 6.825 km NNW of Jayapura, IndonesiaDecember 31, 1911 · 195 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.887 km NNE of Wewak, Papua New GuineaJune 4, 1913 · 271 km E of this epicenter
- 6.6132 km N of Kiunga, Papua New GuineaJuly 27, 1917 · 142 km S of this epicenter
- 6.680 km WNW of Porgera, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1910 · 194 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 195 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1907M7.4
Bismarck Sea
15 Dec 1907 · 109 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1917M7.5
Papua New Guinea
29 Jul 1917 · 0 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.