Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea33y ago
M4.9 earthquake 142 km N of Lae, Papua New Guinea
Friday, May 14, 1993, 00:01:53 UTC · 5.447°S, 147.158°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 142 km N of Lae, Papua New Guinea on Friday, May 14, 1993, 00:01:53 UTC, at a depth of 157.7 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on April 27, 1993.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 158 km
- Intermediate
- 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
137 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Woodlark plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
158 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on June 5, 1993. 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 792 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 · 90 km S of this epicenter
- 7.638 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaOctober 2, 1906 · 108 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.548 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaMay 12, 1938 · 97 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.549 km WSW of Wau, Papua New GuineaFebruary 26, 1963 · 249 km S of this epicenter
- 7.492 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaMay 6, 1947 · 211 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.454 km W of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaOctober 16, 1987 · 229 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.454 km NNW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaFebruary 8, 1987 · 92 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.261 km NNW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaMay 15, 1992 · 84 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 155 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1988M4.3
Kaiapit (Landslide Generated)
6 Sep 1988 · 123 km away
74 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1993M6.9
Eastern: Upper Markham Valley
13 Oct 1993 · 135 km away
60 deaths$5 million damage
- 1970M7.3
Madang
31 Oct 1970 · 196 km away · intensity VIII
18 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1987M7.6
Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island
8 Feb 1987 · 92 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$3 million damagetsunami
- 1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 267 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 18 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.