M7.2 earthquake 100 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea

Friday, May 10, 1985, 15:35:50 UTC · 5.599°S, 151.045°E

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 100 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Friday, May 10, 1985, 15:35:50 UTC, at a depth of 26.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on March 18, 1983.

Magnitude: 7.2; Major · mw
Depth: 27 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

951 kilotons of TNT

That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

85 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South 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 200 km

USGS lists 67 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on May 10, 1985. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 781 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 523 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 196 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 94 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 195 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 0 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 201 km away
1 deathtsunami
1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 275 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers