M7.2 earthquake 282 km SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea

Wednesday, October 23, 1974, 06:14:54 UTC · 8.420°S, 154.034°E

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 282 km SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, October 23, 1974, 06:14:54 UTC, at a depth of 48.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on August 17, 1972.

Magnitude: 7.2; Major · ms
Depth: 48 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: V; Moderate (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

951 kilotons of TNT

That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

22 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Woodlark and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

48 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 lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on November 21, 1974. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 235 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 211 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 239 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1974M7.1
Solomon Islands
1 Feb 1974 · 206 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1907M7.7
New Britain
4 May 1907 · 109 km away
1972M7.1
W. Solomon Sea
17 Aug 1972 · 297 km away · intensity V
tsunami
1974M7.0
Solomon Islands
31 Jan 1974 · 230 km away
tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers