QuakeScout
Magnitude5.2

Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea49y ago

M5.2 earthquake 149 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea

Monday, August 1, 1977, 09:08:41 UTC · 7.507°S, 154.845°E

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 149 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Monday, August 1, 1977, 09:08:41 UTC, at a depth of 27.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on July 29, 1977.

Magnitude
5.2
Moderate · mb
Depth
27 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

951 tons of TNT

That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

26 km

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

Depth: shallow

27 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 469 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 105 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 76 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 56 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.5199 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 17, 1972 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 7.3166 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 12, 1968 · 287 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 184 km E of this epicenter
  8. 7.3192 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaDecember 25, 1967 · 277 km NW of this epicenter

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 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1939M7.7

    Bougainville Island

    30 Jan 1939 · 76 km away

    5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1971M7.9

    New Ireland: Bougainville

    14 Jul 1971 · 246 km away · intensity IX

    3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  3. 1975M7.9

    Bismarck Sea: Bougainville

    20 Jul 1975 · 105 km away · intensity VIII

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1959M7.3

    Solomon Islands

    17 Aug 1959 · 127 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1974M7.1

    Solomon Islands

    1 Feb 1974 · 84 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1968M7.8

    New Ireland

    12 Feb 1968 · 288 km away · intensity VIII

    Limited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages