September 10, 1900 Earthquake: Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea on September 10, 1900 at 21:30 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- September 10, 1900
- Time
- 21:30 UTC
- Place
- Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 4.000° S, 152.000° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Note: Reference #99 states the epicentre is from felt effects. So the Sept 10 earthquake was not from instrumental recordings but felt information. So the date might have been wrong. Reference #414 says that the report on 10 Sept event actually refers to the 17 Sept event. Thus, there may have only been one earthquake (and tsunami) either on Sept 10 or (more likely) on Sept 17.
1900, September 10, 21:30 UTC, 4 S, 152 E, shallow depth, magnitude 6.8 MS. Remarks from Anonymous, 1902: 'A severe earth tremor was felt in the Rabaul area at 8 a.m. of 12th September 1900. European homes were damaged, and some lightly built houses collapsed. The shock was accompanied by a tidal wave which did not cause any damage. The tremor appeared to originate near the volcanoes "Father and Son". Minor tremors persisted throughout the day. Date reported should be 11th - Author. (reference #99)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 28, 1937, Keravia, Rabaul, Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
- December 22, 1983, Ulawun, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
- January 13, 1941, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- November 16, 2000, New Ireland, Duke of York, Papua New Guinea
- February 4, 1878, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- March 10, 1989, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- December 12, 1934, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- February 25, 1910, Matupi Harbor, Papua New Guinea
- May 8, 1911, Matupit Island, Papua New Guinea
- September 17, 1994, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- May 14, 2019, Rabaul, Duke of York Is, Papua New Guinea
- August 13, 1967, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- January 1, 1916, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- March 29, 2015, Papua New Guinea
- July 3, 1985, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1900The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1900Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 6232.