January 19, 1922 Earthquake: Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea on January 19, 1922 at 21:58:58 UTC, 15 km below the surface. 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
- January 19, 1922
- Time
- 21:58:58 UTC
- Place
- Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 6.9 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 7.111° S, 143.530° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
January 19, 21:58:50 UTC 7 S, 143 E, shallow depth, magnitude 7.5. (reference #2666)
January 20, 1922, Remarks: Parumi, native mission teacher at Sumai, reported first shock ("about 8 in the morning") to have been the worst at that place. It shook the houses of the village and broke some of the coconut trees. One big wave came right into the village and then receded. The wave was about six feet high. Some of the people (natives) were "going mad". Natives ran inland from their houses afraid of the tide coming in. Women and children were crying. One house fell down. There were two small shocks after dinner (midday). The people again left their houses. "About 5 p.m." there was a bad shock. The men lay down on the ground; some canoes were filled with water and sank. The people were terrified. The roofs of some of the houses were broken by this or preceding shocks. This man thought that the shocks came from the north. (reference #99)
1922 Jan 19, 21:58:58.51, 7.111 S, 143.53 E 15 depth, 6.94 Mw (reference #10476)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1922The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1922Recent 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 7461.