M5.9 earthquake 78 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea

Sunday, September 15, 1996, 18:17:38 UTC · 6.488°S, 154.799°E

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 78 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea on Sunday, September 15, 1996, 18:17:38 UTC, at a depth of 50.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on September 6, 1996.

Magnitude: 5.9; Moderate · mwc
Depth: 50 km; Shallow
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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

11 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

24 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and North Bismarck plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

50 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 75 km

USGS lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on September 20, 1996. 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 1,177 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 25 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 · 92 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 148 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
1996M7.2
Bougainville Island
29 Apr 1996 · 22 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
1975M7.9
Bismarck Sea: Bougainville
20 Jul 1975 · 30 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 · 254 km away · intensity VI
$1 million damagetsunami

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

Nearby trackers