Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea41y ago
M3.5 earthquake 100 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
Wednesday, May 29, 1985, 03:42:31 UTC · 5.841°S, 150.997°E
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 100 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, May 29, 1985, 03:42:31 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
3 tons of TNT
That is about 1/5,615 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 178 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
65 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
33 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on June 3, 1985. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.7144 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea41y ago · 47 km E of this epicenter
- 3.7115 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea41y ago · 38 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.2114 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea41y ago · 22 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.077 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea41y ago · 31 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.4145 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea41y ago · 46 km E of this epicenter
- 3.3137 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea41y ago · 38 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 771 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 265 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 217 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 149 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5199 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 17, 1972 · 213 km E of this epicenter
- 7.532 km SSW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 28, 1945 · 106 km W of this epicenter
- 7.492 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaMay 6, 1947 · 258 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 298 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 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 · 220 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 109 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 220 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 27 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 225 km away
1 deathtsunami
- 1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 256 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.