Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea36y ago
M5.8 earthquake 132 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
Thursday, January 17, 1991, 20:11:31 UTC · 5.003°S, 151.204°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 132 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Thursday, January 17, 1991, 20:11:31 UTC, at a depth of 143.5 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on January 10, 1991.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 144 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- IV
- Light (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
8 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 16 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
127 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
144 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,043 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21919 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeMay 6, 1919 · 295 km E of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 220 km E of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 299 km E of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 160 km E of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 90 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 238 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6157 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaMarch 18, 1983 · 264 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5199 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 17, 1972 · 221 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 34 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 · 137 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 85 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 133 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 69 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
- 1989M5.4
New Britain: Rabaul
10 Mar 1989 · 191 km away · intensity V
1 death
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 143 km away
1 deathtsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.