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
2023-04-03 East Sepik 7.0 Mw  VII 8 "scores" Severe damage [2]
2022-09-11 Morobe 7.6 Mw  VIII 21 42 Extensive damage [3]
2020-07-17 Oro Province 7.0 Mw  VII 1 Landslides and a dozen homes collapsed [4]
2019-05-14 New Ireland 7.6 Mw VII 1 No major damage or deaths reported. [5][6]
2019-05-06 Morobe 7.1 Mw VI Minor damage in Lae [7]
2018-10-10 New Britain 7.0 Mw  VI 1 Moderate damage [8]
2018-04-07 New Guinea 6.3 Mw VII 4 Aftershock [9]
2018-03-06 New Guinea 6.7 Mw VII 25 Aftershock [10]
2018-03-04 New Guinea 6.0 Mw VII 11 Aftershock [11]
2018-02-25 New Guinea 7.5 Mw IX 160 500+ Heavy damage / Landslides [12][13]
2017-01-22 Bougainville Island 7.9 Mw IX 5 17 Moderate damage / Tsunami (local) [14]
2016-12-17 New Ireland 7.9 Mw  VII Power was knocked out in some areas / tsunami [15]
2015-03-29 New Britain 7.5 Mw  VII Small tsunami [16]
2005-06-04 Morobe Province 6.1 Mw VI 1 Several Many buildings damaged or destroyed in Lae. [17]
2002-09-09 Sandaun Province 7.6 Mw IX 6 70 Tsunami (local) [18]
2002-04-01 Morobe Province 5.3 Mw IV 36 Deaths from a landslide [19]
2002-01-10 Sandaun Province 6.7 Mw IX[20] 1 200 homes destroyed at Aitape [21]
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 [22]
1993-08-20 Hela 6.2 Mw VII 5 Damage in Tari [23]
1989-03-11 Southern New Ireland 5.8 Mw V 1 Landslide [24]
1987-02-09 Morobe Province 7.4 Ms 3 Landslide [25]
1985-05-11 New Britain 7.2 Mw VIII 1 Landslides [26]
1984-03-27 Karkar Island 6.5 Mw VIII 11 Many buildings destroyed [27]
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.

References

  1. ^ "PAGER". earthquake.usgs.gov. United States Geological Survey. 10 September 2022. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  2. ^ National Earthquake Information Center (2 April 2023). "M 7.0 - New Guinea, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  3. ^ "M 7.6 - 67 km E of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea". USGS. Retrieved 10 Sep 2022.
  4. ^ "M 7.0 - 114 km NNW of Popondetta, Papua New Guinea". USGS. Retrieved 2 Dec 2020.
  5. ^ "M 7.5 - 45km NE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  6. ^ Joey Millar (May 14, 2019). "Papua New Guinea earthquake: TSUNAMI THREAT for Pacific after 7.7 quake". www.express.co.uk. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "M 7.2 - 33km NW of Bulolo. Papua New Guinea". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  8. ^ "M 7.0 - 119km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  9. ^ "M 6.3 - 88km WSW of Porgera, Papua New Guinea". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  10. ^ "At least 25 killed in PNG aftershocks". Courier Mail. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  11. ^ "Strong aftershocks rock PNG leaving 11 people dead". ABC News. 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  12. ^ "Pray for those suffering - Post Courier". postcourier.com.pg. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  13. ^ "Death toll in Papua New Guinea quake rises to 75 | IOL News". Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  14. ^ USGS. "M 7.9 - 41km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.
  15. ^ "M 7.9 - 54km E of Taron, Papua New Guinea". USGS. Retrieved 2 Dec 2020.
  16. ^ "M 7.5 - 53km SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea". USGS. Retrieved 2 Dec 2020.
  17. ^ "M 6.1 - 47 km NNW of Lae, Papua New Guinea". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  18. ^ USGS. "M7.6 - near the north coast of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.
  19. ^ "M 5.3 - 62 km NW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea". earthquake.usgs.gov.
  20. ^ USGS (2 April 2023). "PAGER" (PDF). Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  21. ^ USGS. "M6.7 - near the north coast of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.
  22. ^ USGS. "M6.9 - eastern New Guinea region, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.
  23. ^ "M 6.2 - 28 km SW of Tari, Papua New Guinea". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  24. ^ USGS. "M5.8 - New Britain region, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.
  25. ^ USGS. "M7.4 - eastern New Guinea region, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.
  26. ^ USGS. "M7.2 - New Britain region, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.
  27. ^ USGS. "M6.5 - near the north coast of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey.

Sources

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