M8.0 earthquake 1971 New Britain Earthquake

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck 1971 New Britain Earthquake on Wed, Jul 14, 1971, 4:11 PM GMT+10 (06:11 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.

Arawa forecast More in Papua New Guinea

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 8.0 (mw), great
Local time: Wed, Jul 14, 1971, 4:11 PM GMT+10
UTC: 1971-07-14 06:11:26 UTC
Depth: 15.0 km (9.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 5.467° S, 153.864° E
Region: Papua New Guinea
Strongest shaking: VI, strong shaking
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: VI, strong shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 16.6% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 3.2 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.30
Depth from: From location

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Arawa, Papua New GuineaPopulation 40,266. Forecast206 kmWNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 21 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

5.8126 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaFri, Jul 9, 7:49 PM GMT+10 · 20164 days ago · 65 km deep · 81 km away

Earthquakes today Papua New Guinea earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem782181 (also filed as atlas19710714061130). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:29 AM UTC.