Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea50y ago
M4.7 earthquake 238 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea
Thursday, July 29, 1976, 17:32:18 UTC · 4.649°S, 139.718°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 238 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea on Thursday, July 29, 1976, 17:32:18 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on July 26, 1976.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
10 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 145 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 272 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8New Guinea, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 204 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km SW of Abepura, IndonesiaJanuary 10, 1971 · 160 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6158 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 26, 1926 · 203 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5143 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaMay 28, 1968 · 202 km N of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 246 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1214 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New GuineaJune 25, 1976 · 42 km E of this epicenter
- 7.143 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaAugust 7, 1931 · 294 km NE 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 6,138 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
25 Jun 1976 · 42 km away
6,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya
29 Oct 1976 · 27 km away · intensity VIII
133 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 79 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1971M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya:Djajapura,Sentani
10 Jan 1971 · 172 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1921
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Sentani
10 Oct 1921 · 280 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1919
Irian Jaya Region
21 Nov 1919 · 260 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.