September 17, 1900 Earthquake: Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea on September 17, 1900 at 21:45 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 17, 1900
- Time
- 21:45 UTC
- Place
- Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Mw)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 5.000° S, 148.000° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Note: Reference #99 states the Sept 10 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. Thus, there may have only been one earthquake (and tsunami) either on Sept 10 or (more likely) on Sept 17.
Reference #414:
1900, September 18, after 8:00 [local time]. At Rabaul, there was a strong earthquake lasting 40 seconds; many objects were smashed, but homes did not suffer. It was felt at Kokopo (Herbertshoe). It was registered by the seismograph at Djakarta (Batavia). There were aftershocks. The water began to oscillate in Rabaul Harbour.
Milne (1912): 17.IX; 21h45m; 5o S., 148o E.
Reference #414 also lists a report for September 11, 1900, that probably refers to the event on September 18, 1900. There was a heavy earthquake somewhere, with serious destruction of structures on the Gazelle Peninsula. There were slumps along the shores of Blanche Bay. There was a tsunami.
1900, September 17, 21:45:0 UTC. 5 South, 148 East, 7.1 MW. (reference #9910)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 1, 2002, Morobe, Papua New Guinea
- February 8, 1987, Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea
- October 19, 1899, Bismrack Sea, Papua New Guinea
- May 12, 1938, Papua New Guinea
- April 17, 1857, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- July 5, 1988, Kandrian, Arawe, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- 1875, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea
- May 18, 1905, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- October 2, 1906, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- May 6, 1947, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- October 16, 1987, Kandrian, Kimbte, 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 6234.