M5.5 earthquake 57 km E of Madang, Papua New Guinea

Monday, January 19, 1998, 13:48:07 UTC · 5.231°S, 146.308°E

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 57 km E of Madang, Papua New Guinea on Monday, January 19, 1998, 13:48:07 UTC, at a depth of 159.3 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on January 16, 1998.

Magnitude: 5.5; Moderate · mwc
Depth: 159 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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

3 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

99 km

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

Depth: intermediate

159 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on February 12, 1998. 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 856 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 21 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 · 93 km away
74 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1993M6.9
Eastern: Upper Markham Valley
13 Oct 1993 · 80 km away
60 deaths$5 million damage
1970M7.3
Madang
31 Oct 1970 · 99 km away · intensity VIII
18 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
1987M7.6
Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island
8 Feb 1987 · 180 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$3 million damagetsunami
1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 82 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1873M8.0
Maclay Coast
1873 · 45 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers