Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea26y ago
M4.8 earthquake 74 km WNW of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
Sunday, December 17, 2000, 15:38:48 UTC · 3.981°S, 151.531°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 74 km WNW of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea on Sunday, December 17, 2000, 15:38:48 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on December 17, 2000.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
28 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Bismarck and South Bismarck 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on December 17, 2000. 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 1,388 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21919 Papua New Guinea EarthquakeMay 6, 1919 · 274 km E of this epicenter
- 8.11971 Bougainville EarthquakeJuly 26, 1971 · 208 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.02000 New Ireland EarthquakeNovember 16, 2000 · 71 km E of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 149 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 122 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8138 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaNovember 17, 2000 · 171 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8135 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaNovember 16, 2000 · 223 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7152 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaSeptember 29, 1946 · 242 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 37 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 · 81 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 161 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 64 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2000M8.0
New Ireland, Duke Of York
16 Nov 2000 · 88 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 188 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
- 1989M5.4
New Britain: Rabaul
10 Mar 1989 · 146 km away · intensity V
1 death
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.