M7.1 earthquake 214 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea

Friday, June 25, 1976, 19:18:56 UTC · 4.603°S, 140.091°E

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 214 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea on Friday, June 25, 1976, 19:18:56 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on January 10, 1971.

Magnitude: 7.1; Major · ms
Depth: 33 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

674 kilotons of TNT

That is about 45 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,413 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

28 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Maoke 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 200 km

USGS lists 42 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on June 27, 1976. 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 129 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 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,138 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
25 Jun 1976 · 0 km away
6,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya
29 Oct 1976 · 21 km away · intensity VIII
133 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 68 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1971M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya:Djajapura,Sentani
10 Jan 1971 · 173 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1921
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Sentani
10 Oct 1921 · 293 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1951M6.1
Bismarck Sea
22 Feb 1951 · 282 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers