November 4, 1923 Earthquake: Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea on November 4, 1923 at 00:04:47 UTC, 149 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
- November 4, 1923
- Time
- 00:04:47 UTC
- Place
- Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 149 km (93 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 4.539° S, 153.107° 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.
November 4, 1923, 00:04:30 UTC, 5 S, 152 E, magnitude 7.2 MS. (reference #88)
1923 Nov 4, 00:04:47.81 UTC, 4.539 S, 153.107 E, 6.9 Mb, 7.1 Ms (reference #9910)
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
- July 14, 1971, Bougainville, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- November 16, 2000, New Ireland, Duke of York, Papua New Guinea
- March 10, 1989, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- February 4, 1878, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- April 23, 1953, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- July 13, 2017, Papua New Guinea
- July 3, 1985, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- July 26, 1971, Bismarck Sea Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
- September 9, 2005, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- September 29, 1946, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- December 17, 2016, New Britain New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- June 22, 1768, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1923The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1923Recent 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 6287.