Earthquakes in Papua New Guinea are due to its location near the geologically-active Pacific Ring of Fire. Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are usually metal, timber and unreinforced brick masonry construction.[1]
Date | Region | Mag. | MMI | Deaths | Injuries | Comments | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024-03-24 | East Sepik | 6.9 Mw | VIII | 5 | 2 | Severe damage | [2] |
2023-04-03 | East Sepik | 7.0 Mw | VII | 8 | "scores" | Severe damage | [3] |
2022-09-11 | Morobe | 7.6 Mw | VIII | 21 | 42 | Extensive damage | [4] |
2020-07-17 | Oro Province | 7.0 Mw | VII | 1 | Landslides and a dozen homes collapsed | [5] | |
2019-05-14 | New Ireland | 7.6 Mw | VII | 1 | No major damage or deaths reported. | [6][7] | |
2019-05-06 | Morobe | 7.1 Mw | VI | Minor damage in Lae | [8] | ||
2018-10-10 | New Britain | 7.0 Mw | VI | 1 | Moderate damage | [9] | |
2018-04-07 | New Guinea | 6.3 Mw | VII | 4 | Aftershock | [10] | |
2018-03-06 | New Guinea | 6.7 Mw | VII | 25 | Aftershock | [11] | |
2018-03-04 | New Guinea | 6.0 Mw | VII | 11 | Aftershock | [12] | |
2018-02-26 | New Guinea | 7.5 Mw | IX | 160 | 500+ | Heavy damage / Landslides | [13][14] |
2017-01-22 | Bougainville Island | 7.9 Mw | IX | 5 | 17 | Moderate damage / Tsunami (local) | [15] |
2016-12-17 | New Ireland | 7.9 Mw | VII | Power was knocked out in some areas / tsunami | [16] | ||
2015-03-29 | New Britain | 7.5 Mw | VII | Small tsunami | [17] | ||
2005-06-04 | Morobe Province | 6.1 Mw | VI | 1 | Several | Many buildings damaged or destroyed in Lae. | [18] |
2002-09-09 | Sandaun Province | 7.6 Mw | IX | 6 | 70 | Tsunami (local) | [19] |
2002-04-01 | Morobe Province | 5.3 Mw | IV | 36 | Deaths from a landslide | [20] | |
2002-01-10 | Sandaun Province | 6.7 Mw | IX[21] | 1 | 200 homes destroyed at Aitape | [22] | |
2000-11-16 | New Ireland | 7.8 Mw | VII | Additional damage / doublet | |||
2000-11-16 | New Ireland | 8.0 Mw | VIII | 2 | Tsunami (local) / doublet | ||
1998-07-17 | Sandaun Province | 7.0 Mw | VIII | 2,183–2,700 | Thousands | Destructive local tsunami (15 m (49 ft)) | |
1993-10-13 | Morobe Province | 6.9 Mw | IX | 60 | 200 | Landslides | [23] |
1993-08-20 | Hela | 6.2 Mw | VII | 5 | Damage in Tari | [24] | |
1989-03-11 | Southern New Ireland | 5.8 Mw | V | 1 | Landslide | [25] | |
1987-02-09 | Morobe Province | 7.4 Ms | VII | 3 | Landslide | [26] | |
1985-05-11 | New Britain | 7.2 Mw | VIII | 1 | Landslides | [27] | |
1984-03-27 | Karkar Island | 6.5 Mw | VIII | 11 | Many buildings destroyed | [28] | |
1971-07-26 | PNG / Solomon Islands | 8.1 Mw | VI | Tsunami (local) / doublet | |||
1971-07-14 | PNG / Solomon Islands | 8.0 Mw | IX | 2 | 5 | Tsunami (local) / doublet | |
1970-10-31 | North coast | 6.9 Mw | VIII | 5–18 | 20 | 3 m (10 ft) tsunami | |
1968-10-23 | North coast | 7.5 | Moderate damage | NGDC 1972 | |||
1968-02-12 | New Ireland | 7.8 | VIII | Minimal damage | NGDC 1972 | ||
1967-08-13 | Bismarck Sea | 6.4 Ms | Severe damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1964-11-17 | New Britain | 7.6 Ms | VIII | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | ||
1953-04-23 | PNG / Solomon Islands | 7.4 Mw | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1941-01-13 | Bismarck Sea | 7.4 Mw | 4 | Moderate damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | ||
1939-01-30 | Bougainville Island | 7.8 Ms | 5 | Many | Moderate damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |
1938-05-12 | 7.5 Ms | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | ||||
1937-05-28 | New Britain | VIII | 507 | Volcanic eruption / tsunami at Tavurvur | NGDC 1972 | ||
1933-12-12 | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||||
1922-01-19 | Bismarck Sea | 7.5 Ms | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1920-02-02 | New Britain | 7.7 Ms | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1919-05-06 | PNG / Solomon Islands | 7.8 Mw | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1916-01-01 | PNG / Solomon Islands | 7.9 Mw | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1906-10-02 | Bismarck Sea | 7.2 Mw | Limited damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1906-09-14 | New Britain | 8.0 Mw | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
1900-09-10 | Bismarck Sea | 6.8 Ms | Some | Severe damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | ||
1873 | Maclay Coast | 8.0 Ms | Some | Moderate damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | ||
1857-04-17 | Bismarck Sea | 8.0 Ms | Minimal damage / tsunami | NGDC 1972 | |||
Note: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded. |