Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea43y ago
M4.8 earthquake in Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea
Tuesday, May 17, 1983, 11:49:49 UTC · 6.581°S, 154.367°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, May 17, 1983, 11:49:49 UTC, at a depth of 31.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on May 13, 1983.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 32 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
6 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
32 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on May 17, 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 842 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 · 205 km N of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 231 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 136 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 280 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 76 km E of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 126 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 104 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 191 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 24 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 125 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 131 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1975M7.9
Bismarck Sea: Bougainville
20 Jul 1975 · 76 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 207 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1971M8.1
Bismarck Sea Rabaul
26 Jul 1971 · 231 km away · intensity VI
$1 million damagetsunami
- 1983M7.6
New Ireland
18 Mar 1983 · 208 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.