September 30, 1930 Earthquake: Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea on September 30, 1930 at 21:20:54 UTC, 35 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
- September 30, 1930
- Time
- 21:20:54 UTC
- Place
- Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 6.6 · Ms 6.8
- Focal depth
- 35 km (22 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 4.423° S, 145.460° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
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.
1930, September 30, 21:20:45 UTC. 4.5 S, 146 E, shallow depth, magnitude 7.0 MS. (reference #2666)
1930, September 30, 21:20:45 UT., 4.5 S, 146 E, magnitude 6.75 MS. (reference #130)
1930, September 30, 21:20:54.09 UTC. 4.423 S, 145.46 E, depth 35 km, magnitude 6.8. (reference #9910)
1930, September 30, 21:20:50.45 UTC. 4.448 S, 145.598 E, depth 15 km, magnitude 6.6 Mw. (reference #10476)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #130 Gutenberg, B. and C.F. Richter (1965). Seismicity of the earth and associated phenomena. Princeton University Press, 1954 (second edition); Hafner Publishing Company, New York and London (facsimile edition), 310 p.
- #10476 International Seismological Centre (2013). Final Scientific Report of the ISC-GEM Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue, ISC-GEM Global Instrumental earthquake Catalogue (1900-2021). Versions 1-12 downloaded beginning 18 March 2013. DOI: 10.31905/D808B825
- #9910 Engdahl, E.R., R. van der Hilst, R. Buland (2012). Centennial Earthquake Catalog. Retrieved August 11, 2011 from link
- #2666 Everingham, I.B. (1974). Large earthquakes in the New Guinea-Solomon Islands area, 1873-1972, Tectonophysics, Vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 323-338.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 13, 1993, Upper Markham Valley, Eastern, Papua New Guinea
- October 31, 1970, Madang, Papua New Guinea
- March 27, 1984, Karkar, Papua New Guinea
- June 25, 1979, E, MT Hagen, Papua New Guinea
- August 3, 1916, N Coast, Papua New Guinea
- 1873, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea
- October 7, 2023, Madang, Papua New Guinea
- June 24, 1986, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1930The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1930Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6088. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem907625, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.