February 12, 1968 Earthquake: New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck New Ireland, Papua New Guinea on February 12, 1968 at 05:44:00 UTC, 74 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
- February 12, 1968
- Time
- 05:44:00 UTC
- Place
- New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.8
- Focal depth
- 74 km (46 mi)
- Intensity
- VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 5.500° S, 153.200° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #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]
- #1232 International Seismological Centre (1964-1990). Regional Catalogue of Earthquakes, 1964-1990, Edinburgh, Scotland.
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
- November 16, 2000, New Ireland, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- March 6, 1938, Papua New Guinea
- October 10, 1955, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- August 17, 1972, W. Solomon Sea
- July 26, 1971, Bismarck Sea Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
- June 23, 2009, Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
- July 13, 2017, Papua New Guinea
- March 18, 1983, New Ireland, 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4427. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem826088, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.