QuakeScout
Magnitude4.7

Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea27y ago

M4.7 earthquake 152 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea

Tuesday, April 13, 1999, 11:04:54 UTC · 6.588°S, 151.040°E

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 152 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, April 13, 1999, 11:04:54 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on April 11, 1999.

Magnitude
4.7
Light · mb
Depth
33 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

169 tons of TNT

That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

9 km

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

Depth: shallow

33 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,008 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 269 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 210 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.5199 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 17, 1972 · 216 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.5104 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 30, 1990 · 166 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.532 km SSW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 28, 1945 · 139 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.492 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaMay 6, 1947 · 252 km W of this epicenter
  8. 7.463 km W of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaApril 5, 1999 · 197 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 523 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1937

    Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo

    28 May 1937 · 288 km away · intensity VIII

    507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1983M6.4

    Ulawun, Rabaul

    22 Dec 1983 · 161 km away · intensity V

    10 deaths$25 million damage

  3. 1941M7.4

    Bismarck Sea

    13 Jan 1941 · 292 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1985M7.1

    New Britain: Bialla, Piona

    10 May 1985 · 110 km away · intensity VIII

    1 death$1 million damage

  5. 1878

    Bismarck Sea

    4 Feb 1878 · 292 km away

    1 deathtsunami

  6. 1906M8.0

    New Britain

    14 Sep 1906 · 230 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

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