Significant earthquakes of 1968

May 28, 1968 Earthquake: Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia

May 28, 1968 · M7.7

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia on May 28, 1968 at 13:27:18 UTC, 65 km below the surface.

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
May 28, 1968
Time
13:27:18 UTC
Place
Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
Magnitude
7.7 (Ms)
Magnitude scales
Ms 7.7 · mb 6.1
Focal depth
65 km (40 mi)
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
2.900° S, 139.300° E
Country
Indonesia
Region
Central and South Pacific

Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-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.

1968, May 28, 13.27 UTC. 2.9 S, 139.3 E, New Guinea, magnitude 7.7 MS, 6.1 mb, depth 65 km. Felt in New Guinea in the Sepik district; intensity V at Telefomin and at

Green River, IV at Tari (Papua). (reference #1039)

1968, May 28, 13:27:18.7 UTC. 2.9 S, 139.3 E, magnitude 7 MS, near north east of western new Guinea. (reference #45)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1928-1986). United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
  2. #1039 Rothe, J.P. (1966-1973). Annual Summary of Information on Natural Disasters, UNESCO, Paris, France, 1966 (no. 1) through 1973 (no. 8), 612 p.
  3. #1232 International Seismological Centre (1964-1990). Regional Catalogue of Earthquakes, 1964-1990, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1968The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1968Recent 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 4441. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem823104, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.