Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea27y ago
M4.3 earthquake 96 km N of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea
Sunday, May 23, 1999, 00:42:04 UTC · 5.699°S, 148.014°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 96 km N of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea on Sunday, May 23, 1999, 00:42:04 UTC, at a depth of 113.6 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 114 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
160 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the South Bismarck and Woodlark plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
114 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 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 985 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01906 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeSeptember 14, 1906 · 108 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.638 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaOctober 2, 1906 · 84 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.548 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New GuineaMay 12, 1938 · 77 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.549 km WSW of Wau, Papua New GuineaFebruary 26, 1963 · 277 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.532 km SSW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 28, 1945 · 225 km E of this epicenter
- 7.492 km WSW of Kandrian, Papua New GuineaMay 6, 1947 · 120 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 290 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.463 km W of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaApril 5, 1999 · 172 km E of this epicenter
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 155 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1988M4.3
Kaiapit (Landslide Generated)
6 Sep 1988 · 201 km away
74 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1993M6.9
Eastern: Upper Markham Valley
13 Oct 1993 · 222 km away
60 deaths$5 million damage
- 1970M7.3
Madang
31 Oct 1970 · 295 km away · intensity VIII
18 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1987M7.6
Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island
8 Feb 1987 · 56 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$3 million damagetsunami
- 1906M8.0
New Britain
14 Sep 1906 · 181 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1857M8.0
Bismarck Sea
17 Apr 1857 · 114 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.