October 29, 1976 Earthquake: Jayawijaya, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Jayawijaya, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia on October 29, 1976 at 02:51:07 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 133 people.
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 29, 1976
- Time
- 02:51:07 UTC
- Place
- Jayawijaya, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.517° S, 139.918° E
- Country
- Indonesia
The toll
- Deaths
- 133
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1976, October 29. 133 reported killed in Djajawidjaja mountains area. Felt at Djajapura. MAG. 7.2 MS (PAS), 7.0 MS (BRK) (reference #1053)
1976, October 29. Intensity VIII.Nalca: Bime - 62 people killed. Langda: 46 people killed. The wooden houses of native
people which were built on the slope, collapsed and were buried by a landslide, but the wooden houses which were built on the flat ground suffered no damage. (reference #1188)
1976, October 29. 133 killed. (reference #1250)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 25, 1976, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- January 19, 1981, Jayawijaya Mts, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- August 1, 1989, Kurima District, Baliem River, Indonesia
- October 7, 1900, NW. Irian Jaya, Indonesia
- January 10, 1971, Djajapura,sentani, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- September 20, 1935, N-Central, Papua New Guinea
- May 28, 1968, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- October 26, 1926, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1976The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1976Recent 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 4746.