Reviewed by USGSPapua New Guinea19y ago
M4.3 earthquake 47 km SSE of Kieta, Papua New Guinea
Friday, August 24, 2007, 12:48:26 UTC · 6.608°S, 155.815°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 47 km SSE of Kieta, Papua New Guinea on Friday, August 24, 2007, 12:48:26 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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
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
106 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Solomon Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
35 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on September 5, 2007. 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 1,224 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 · 295 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.12007 Solomon Islands EarthquakeApril 1, 2007 · 247 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.01971 New Britain EarthquakeJuly 14, 1971 · 250 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 84 km W of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 71 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 92 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaAugust 16, 1995 · 202 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 139 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 61 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2007M8.1
Solomon Islands
1 Apr 2007 · 247 km away
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 71 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M7.9
New Ireland: Bougainville
14 Jul 1971 · 245 km away · intensity IX
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1996M7.2
Bougainville Island
29 Apr 1996 · 91 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1975M7.9
Bismarck Sea: Bougainville
20 Jul 1975 · 84 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 101 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.