Shallow M6.3 Earthquake hit in the Bismarck Sea 226km from Madang (Papua New Guinea) on Thursday Night.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on September 11th, 2024. Last updated September 17th, 2024.

A shallow and strong M6.3 earthquake struck in the Bismarck Sea 226 kilometer from Madang, Papua New Guinea in the night of Thursday September 12th, 2024. Around 290 thousand people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Bismarck Sea, 118 kilometers (73 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 226 kilometer north-northeast of Madang. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Sep 12, 2024 02:46 (Port Moresby Time) - Sep 11, 2024 16:46 Universal Time.
Location:	226 km NNE of Madang, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 3°16'22"S 146°21'36"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.3 Detected by 25 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.062 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 290 thousand people exposed to shaking

An estimated 290 thousand have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 266,800 people are expected to be exposed to this level. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Papua New Guinea .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
23,390	III	Weak	Probably none
266,800	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Papua New Guinea . Madang in Madang, Papua New Guinea is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 226 kilometer (140 mi) north-northeast of Madang.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
226 km (140 mi) SSW from epicenter	Madang Madang, Papua New Guinea.
304 km (189 mi) W from epicenter	Wewak East Sepik, Papua New Guinea.
331 km (206 mi) SSW from epicenter	Goroka Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.
372 km (231 mi) SW from epicenter	Mount Hagen Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea.
390 km (242 mi) S from epicenter	Lae Morobe, Papua New Guinea.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places in Papua New Guinea.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Madang, Madang, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.
Lorengau, Manus, Papua New Guinea: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since November 27th, 2023, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit 260 km (162 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on October 7th, 2023.

In total, 9 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.3 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every year.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 17/09/24 16:08 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.