Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea50y ago
M4.4 earthquake 185 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea
Saturday, August 14, 1976, 00:34:16 UTC · 4.909°S, 140.140°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 185 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea on Saturday, August 14, 1976, 00:34:16 UTC, at a depth of 41.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 41 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
2 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
41 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on September 3, 1976. 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 128 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8New Guinea, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 180 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km SW of Abepura, IndonesiaJanuary 10, 1971 · 194 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6158 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 26, 1926 · 246 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5143 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaMay 28, 1968 · 243 km N of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 221 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1214 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New GuineaJune 25, 1976 · 34 km N of this epicenter
- 7.143 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaAugust 7, 1931 · 271 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.825 km NNW of Jayapura, IndonesiaDecember 31, 1911 · 295 km N 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 · 34 km away
6,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya
29 Oct 1976 · 50 km away · intensity VIII
133 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 102 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1971M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya:Djajapura,Sentani
10 Jan 1971 · 207 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1951M6.1
Bismarck Sea
22 Feb 1951 · 297 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1919
Irian Jaya Region
21 Nov 1919 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.