Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea53y ago
M5.2 earthquake 29 km ESE of Kieta, Papua New Guinea
Thursday, February 28, 1974, 02:11:18 UTC · 6.266°S, 155.890°E
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 29 km ESE of Kieta, Papua New Guinea on Thursday, February 28, 1974, 02:11:18 UTC, at a depth of 101.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on February 10, 1974.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 101 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
951 tons of TNT
That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
144 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
101 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on March 7, 1974. 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 244 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21919 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeMay 6, 1919 · 277 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 241 km W of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 107 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 169 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3192 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaDecember 25, 1967 · 263 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaOctober 19, 1949 · 195 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2192 km NW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaApril 28, 1972 · 225 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2205 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaDecember 23, 1943 · 258 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 106 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 236 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 138 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1974M7.1
Solomon Islands
1 Feb 1974 · 130 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.2
Solomon Islands
6 May 1919 · 277 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1907M7.7
New Britain
4 May 1907 · 278 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.