October 19, 1949 Earthquake: Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea on October 19, 1949 at 21:00:19 UTC, 60 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
- October 19, 1949
- Time
- 21:00:19 UTC
- Place
- Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 60 km (37 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 5.500° S, 154.000° 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.
Reference #414:
1949, October 19, 21:00:19 UTC, 5.5 S, 154 E, depth 60 km, magnitude 7.25 (G&R).
Reference #45:
1949, October 19, 21:00:17 UTC. Solomon Islands, 6 S, 154.5 E, depth 60 km, magnitude 7.25.
Reference #79:
1949, October 19, 21:00 UTC. Solomon Sea, 5.5 S, 154 E, magnitude 7.5 (G&R).
Reference #9910:
1949, October 19, 21:00:19 UTC, 5.5 S, 154 E, depth 60 km, 7.5 Mw P&S, 7.1 Ms ABE1, 7.4 mb ABE1, 7.2 UK G&R, 7.2 UK PAS.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 14, 1971, Bougainville, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- January 22, 2017, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- April 29, 1996, Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands
- April 11, 2014, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- March 10, 1989, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- August 16, 1995, Rabaul, Kokopo, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- June 23, 2009, Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
- May 30, 1913, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- May 6, 1919, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- March 18, 1983, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- February 12, 1968, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- November 2, 1923, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
- November 16, 2000, New Ireland, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- March 6, 1938, Papua New Guinea
- July 26, 1971, Bismarck Sea Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1949The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1949Recent 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 6360.