QuakeScout
Magnitude5.1

Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea52y ago

M5.1 earthquake 120 km SSE of Panguna, Papua New Guinea

Tuesday, January 14, 1975, 22:34:21 UTC · 7.325°S, 155.907°E

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 120 km SSE of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, January 14, 1975, 22:34:21 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on January 2, 1975.

Magnitude
5.1
Moderate · mb
Depth
33 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
—
No ShakeMap
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

674 tons of TNT

That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

42 km

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

Depth: shallow

33 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 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 275 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 63 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 76 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.2155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaOctober 19, 1949 · 256 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.2282 km SW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaOctober 23, 1974 · 240 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.1110 km SE of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMarch 27, 1926 · 244 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.1118 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaFebruary 1, 1974 · 37 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.067 km WNW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsAugust 17, 1959 · 68 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.0126 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJanuary 31, 1974 · 15 km S 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 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1939M7.7

    Bougainville Island

    30 Jan 1939 · 64 km away

    5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1975M7.9

    Bismarck Sea: Bougainville

    20 Jul 1975 · 125 km away · intensity VIII

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1959M7.3

    Solomon Islands

    17 Aug 1959 · 22 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1974M7.1

    Solomon Islands

    1 Feb 1974 · 35 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1907M7.7

    New Britain

    4 May 1907 · 244 km away

  6. 1975M7.7

    Solomon Islands: Buin, Boku

    20 Jul 1975 · 87 km away · intensity VII

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

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