Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea39y ago
M4.8 earthquake 72 km SSW of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea
Monday, November 2, 1987, 14:51:50 UTC · 6.814°S, 149.301°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 72 km SSW of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea on Monday, November 2, 1987, 14:51:50 UTC, at a depth of 43.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on October 31, 1987.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 43 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
24 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
43 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on November 24, 1987. 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 605 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01906 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeSeptember 14, 1906 · 239 km W of this epicenter
- 7.638 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaOctober 2, 1906 · 197 km W of this epicenter
- 7.548 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaMay 12, 1938 · 203 km W of this epicenter
- 7.532 km SSW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 28, 1945 · 137 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.492 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaMay 6, 1947 · 70 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.454 km W of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaOctober 16, 1987 · 66 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.454 km NNW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaFebruary 8, 1987 · 196 km NW of this epicenter
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 4 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1987M7.6
Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island
8 Feb 1987 · 196 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$3 million damagetsunami
- 1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 235 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
- 1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 39 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 293 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1987M7.7
New Britain: Kandrian, Kimbte
16 Oct 1987 · 66 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1895M7.3
W. Solomon Sea
6 Mar 1895 · 197 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.