Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea44y ago
M6.7 earthquake 57 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
Tuesday, May 10, 1983, 18:27:31 UTC · 4.805°S, 152.509°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 57 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, May 10, 1983, 18:27:31 UTC, at a depth of 71.6 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on March 18, 1983.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 72 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
51 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
72 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on June 2, 1983. 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 766 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21919 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeMay 6, 1919 · 150 km E of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 75 km E of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 167 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 14 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 57 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 102 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6157 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaMarch 18, 1983 · 119 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5199 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 17, 1972 · 144 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 29 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 525 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 68 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 96 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 85 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 172 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 68 km away
1 deathtsunami
- 1967M6.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Aug 1967 · 45 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.