Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea31y ago
M4.0 earthquake 201 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
Monday, October 9, 1995, 17:43:33 UTC · 5.339°S, 153.948°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 201 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Monday, October 9, 1995, 17:43:33 UTC, at a depth of 400.0 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 400 km
- Deep
- 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
53 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: deep
400 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 M3.9 on October 27, 1995. 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 1,476 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 · 60 km N of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 100 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 17 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 160 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 185 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 251 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 218 km W of this epicenter
- 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 36 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 531 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 227 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 230 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 250 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 245 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 19 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1989M5.4
New Britain: Rabaul
10 Mar 1989 · 169 km away · intensity V
1 death
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.