March 18, 1983 Earthquake: New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck New Ireland, Papua New Guinea on March 18, 1983 at 09:05:50 UTC, 89 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
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
- March 18, 1983
- Time
- 09:05:50 UTC
- Place
- New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 89 km (55 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 4.883° S, 153.581° 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Damage (VII) along the southeast coast of New Ireland. Landslides and ground cracks occurred, trees were uprooted and steam was ejected from fumaroles in the Feni Islands. Slight damage (VI) and minor landslides in the Rabaul area, New Britain. Felt on Bougainville and (III) at Port Moresby, New Guinea. Felt strongly by two ships at sea in the epicentral area. Twenty-five cm tsunami recorded at Rabaul. Minor tsunami observed in the Feni Islands and along the southeast coast of New Ireland. (reference #1053)
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
- May 6, 1919, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- June 23, 2009, Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
- September 9, 2005, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- December 17, 2016, New Britain New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- July 13, 2017, Papua New Guinea
- September 29, 1946, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- July 26, 1971, Bismarck Sea Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
- May 30, 1913, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1983The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1983Recent 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 4965.