July 20, 1975 Earthquake: Buin, Boku, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Buin, Boku, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea on July 20, 1975 at 19:54:27 UTC, 44 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
- July 20, 1975
- Time
- 19:54:27 UTC
- Place
- Buin, Boku, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 44 km (27 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 7.104° S, 155.152° 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.
Felt (VII) at Buin. (Reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 30, 1939, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- January 22, 2017, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- April 11, 2014, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- April 29, 1996, Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands
- April 19, 2014, Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
- July 20, 1975, Bougainville, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- February 1, 1974, Solomon Islands
- September 8, 1955, Fauro Island, Solomon Islands
- October 12, 1987, Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
- January 31, 1974, Solomon Islands
- August 17, 1959, Solomon Islands
- May 4, 1907, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- August 16, 1995, Rabaul, Kokopo, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1975The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1975Recent 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 4695.