Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea30y ago
M4.2 earthquake 117 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
Friday, May 17, 1996, 03:12:19 UTC · 6.852°S, 154.568°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 117 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Friday, May 17, 1996, 03:12:19 UTC, at a depth of 68.3 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 68 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
0 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
68 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on May 23, 1996. 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 1,142 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 · 241 km N of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 173 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 61 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 94 km E of this epicenter
- 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 70 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaAugust 16, 1995 · 125 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 228 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 24 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 94 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 167 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1996M7.2
Bougainville Island
29 Apr 1996 · 60 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1975M7.9
Bismarck Sea: Bougainville
20 Jul 1975 · 61 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 174 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1971M8.1
Bismarck Sea Rabaul
26 Jul 1971 · 269 km away · intensity VI
$1 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.