Seismic Event Dossier05:41 Local (19:41 UTC)(just now)
4.81°S, 153.86°E
USGS•#iscgem912783reviewed

Earthquake near Off the coast of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 8.2 (MW) earthquake occurred on 1919-05-06, 05:41 local time (19:41 UTC) (just now), centered Off the coast of Rabaul (202 km E, Papua New Guinea). The hypocenter was located at a intermediate depth of 35 km. Primary telemetry verified by USGS alongside 1 regional seismic monitoring networks.

Historical Landmark Earthquake

#80 of All Time

Curated Global Seismic Archive (1700–Present)

Top-100 Earthquakes
Magnitude 8.2 historical earthquake occurring on 1919-05-06 in Papua New Guinea. Associated with the Unnamed Fault (Active Fault). Documented casualties: > 1,000.
Documented Fatalities> 1,000
Fault KinematicsActive Fault
Equivalent Energy30.09 Mt TNT

Magnitude

MW
M 8.2

30.09 Mt TNT

Depth

35 km
35 km

intermediate (35–70 km (Intermediate))

PAGER Impact

red
> 1,000 fatalities

Injuries: > 5,000 · ~1.2M felt

Interactive Epicenter & Fault Map

Fault5 km
Unnamed Fault
Active Fault · ~~15.0 mm/yr
Felt byMMI V+
~1.2M exposed
~626K in strong shaking
Primary SolutionUSGS
USGS#iscgem912783reviewed
1 agencies reporting
Geological Setting4.8°S
Papua New Guinea
Offshore / Marine rupture

Seismic Activity & Aftershock Sequence

Timeline of foreshocks, main rupture, aftershocks and machine learning risk probability evolution.

M0.0M4.5M9.0100%50%0%MainshockMay 6, 04 AMMay 6, 04 PMMay 7, 04 AMMay 7, 04 PMMay 8, 04 AMMay 8, 04 PMMay 9, 04 AMMay 9, 04 PMMay 10, 04 AMM8.2
Hover or tap a point to inspect aftershocks and risk probability curve.
<35 km (Shallow)35–70 km (Intermediate)>70 km (Deep)Mainshock
ML Risk Forecast:12h40%24h54%72h70%7d88%

Where it was felt

1 settlements

Shaking intensity is modelled from magnitude, depth and distance (GMPE attenuation), not reported by residents.

TownDistanceIntensity
Arawa · North Solomons246 kmMMI VII

Readings by agency

1 sources

Independent solutions for the same rupture. Differences of 0.1–0.3 in magnitude are normal and reflect method and station coverage.

AgencySource IDMagnitudeDepthEpicenter
USGS
Primary
iscgem912783M 8.235 km-4.81, 153.86

Tectonic setting

Nearest mapped active fault: Unnamed Fault, 5 km away, slip rate ~15.0 mm/yr (GEM Global Active Faults).