QuakeScout
Magnitude4.9

Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea50y ago

M4.9 earthquake 203 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea

Wednesday, September 15, 1976, 13:52:00 UTC · 4.676°S, 140.161°E

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 203 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, September 15, 1976, 13:52:00 UTC, at a depth of 56.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on September 14, 1976.

Magnitude
4.9
Light · mb
Depth
56 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

338 tons of TNT

That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

23 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

56 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 143 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8New Guinea, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 162 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.7120 km SW of Abepura, IndonesiaJanuary 10, 1971 · 170 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.6158 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 26, 1926 · 224 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.5143 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaMay 28, 1968 · 219 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 205 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.1214 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New GuineaJune 25, 1976 · 11 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.143 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaAugust 7, 1931 · 253 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.055 km NNW of Ambunti, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 294 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 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:

  1. 1976M7.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya

    25 Jun 1976 · 11 km away

    6,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  2. 1976M7.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya

    29 Oct 1976 · 32 km away · intensity VIII

    133 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

  3. 1900M6.9

    Nw. Irian Jaya

    7 Oct 1900 · 77 km away

    5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1971M8.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya:Djajapura,Sentani

    10 Jan 1971 · 183 km away · intensity IX

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1951M6.1

    Bismarck Sea

    22 Feb 1951 · 280 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1919

    Irian Jaya Region

    21 Nov 1919 · 245 km away · intensity VIII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages