Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea114y ago
M7.4 earthquake 97 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
Friday, May 30, 1913, 11:47:12 UTC · 4.789°S, 151.512°E
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 97 km SW of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea on Friday, May 30, 1913, 11:47:12 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on January 13, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 7.4
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
1.7 megatons of TNT
That is about 110 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3,467 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
114 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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:
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 255 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0152 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaMarch 4, 1905 · 267 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0170 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaMarch 4, 1905 · 208 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7129 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaSeptember 7, 1910 · 197 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6268 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaMay 4, 1907 · 258 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6175 km NW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaSeptember 17, 1906 · 272 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3256 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaMay 21, 1913 · 260 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 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 · 101 km away
1 deathtsunami
- 1899
New Ireland: East Coast
15 Jan 1899 · 206 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1906M7.2
Bismarck Sea
2 Oct 1906 · 292 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1900M6.8
Bismarck Sea
10 Sep 1900 · 103 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1768M7.5
New Ireland
22 Jun 1768 · 143 km away
tsunami
- 1905M7.5
Bismarck Sea
18 May 1905 · 292 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.