M6.0 earthquake 29 km WNW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea

Monday, March 16, 1987, 15:49:36 UTC · 6.446°S, 147.603°E

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 29 km WNW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea on Monday, March 16, 1987, 15:49:36 UTC, at a depth of 26.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on February 25, 1987.

Magnitude: 6.0; Strong · mw
Depth: 26 km; Shallow
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

15 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 32 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

66 km

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

Depth: shallow

26 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 100 km

USGS lists 16 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on April 10, 1987. 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 516 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 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 21 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1970M7.3
Madang
31 Oct 1970 · 291 km away · intensity VIII
18 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
1987M7.6
Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island
8 Feb 1987 · 41 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$3 million damagetsunami
1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 166 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 125 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1873M8.0
Maclay Coast
1873 · 206 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1987M7.7
New Britain: Kandrian, Kimbte
16 Oct 1987 · 162 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers