October 23, 1968 Earthquake: N Coast, Wewak, Dagua, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck N Coast, Wewak, Dagua, Papua New Guinea on October 23, 1968 at 21:04:00 UTC, 21 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
- October 23, 1968
- Time
- 21:04:00 UTC
- Place
- N Coast, Wewak, Dagua, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.5
- Focal depth
- 21 km (13 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 3.400° S, 143.300° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 17, 1998, Sissano, Papua New Guinea
- April 2, 2023, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea
- March 23, 2024, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea
- September 8, 2002, Kairiru Is, Muschu Is, Wewak, Papua New Guinea
- January 10, 2002, Aitape, Papua New Guinea
- July 3, 1918, N Coast, Papua New Guinea
- December 15, 1907, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- February 22, 1951, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- August 7, 1931, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- June 24, 1986, Papua New Guinea
- August 3, 1916, N Coast, Papua New Guinea
- July 29, 1917, Papua New Guinea
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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4469.