Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea27y ago
M4.2 earthquake 29 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
Friday, May 21, 1999, 12:44:49 UTC · 5.744°S, 150.318°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 29 km SE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea on Friday, May 21, 1999, 12:44:49 UTC, at a depth of 86.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 86 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: 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
110 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
86 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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on June 11, 1999. 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 1,168 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 278 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 207 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5199 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 17, 1972 · 289 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5104 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 30, 1990 · 102 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.532 km SSW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 28, 1945 · 32 km W of this epicenter
- 7.492 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaMay 6, 1947 · 191 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 255 km N of this epicenter
- 7.463 km W of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaApril 5, 1999 · 85 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 526 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1937
Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo
28 May 1937 · 265 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 176 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 261 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1987M7.6
Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island
8 Feb 1987 · 293 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$3 million damagetsunami
- 1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 82 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
- 1878
Bismarck Sea
4 Feb 1878 · 271 km away
1 deathtsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.