Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea26y ago
M4.8 earthquake in New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea
Monday, January 1, 2001, 09:25:33 UTC · 3.788°S, 150.634°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea on Monday, January 1, 2001, 09:25:33 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on December 29, 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 earthquake
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
4 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Manus 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 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 1,142 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.02000 New Ireland EarthquakeNovember 16, 2000 · 172 km E of this epicenter
- 8.060 km SE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaJanuary 1, 1916 · 246 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.874 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaFebruary 2, 1920 · 202 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8138 km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaNovember 17, 2000 · 229 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5104 km ENE of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 30, 1990 · 150 km S of this epicenter
- 7.532 km SSW of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaDecember 28, 1945 · 236 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4177 km SW of Kavieng, Papua New GuineaJanuary 13, 1905 · 122 km W of this epicenter
- 7.463 km W of Kimbe, Papua New GuineaApril 5, 1999 · 233 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 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 · 182 km away · intensity VIII
507 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1983M6.4
Ulawun, Rabaul
22 Dec 1983 · 225 km away · intensity V
10 deaths$25 million damage
- 1941M7.4
Bismarck Sea
13 Jan 1941 · 165 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2000M8.0
New Ireland, Duke Of York
16 Nov 2000 · 189 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1985M7.1
New Britain: Bialla, Piona
10 May 1985 · 206 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$1 million damage
- 1989M5.4
New Britain: Rabaul
10 Mar 1989 · 248 km away · intensity V
1 death
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.