M7.5 earthquake 104 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea

Sunday, December 30, 1990, 19:14:18 UTC · 5.097°S, 150.967°E

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 104 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Sunday, December 30, 1990, 19:14:18 UTC, at a depth of 178.6 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on March 18, 1983.

Magnitude: 7.5; Major · mw
Depth: 179 km; Intermediate
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

2.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 178 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

135 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: intermediate

179 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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 10 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on January 9, 1991. 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 1,048 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 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 524 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 165 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 105 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 160 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 56 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
1989M5.4
New Britain: Rabaul
10 Mar 1989 · 219 km away · intensity V
1 death
1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 171 km away
1 deathtsunami

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

Nearby trackers