July 3, 1985 Earthquake: Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea on July 3, 1985 at 04:36:51 UTC, 46 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
- July 3, 1985
- Time
- 04:36:51 UTC
- Place
- Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 46 km (29 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 4.439° S, 152.828° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Damage
- $1 million
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
An earthquake on 3 July 1985 caused numerous small to moderate landslides in the epicentral region. The damage in the coastal villages was relatively light, limited to damaged water tanks and collapse of bush-material houses. In Rabaul, 70 km to the west, the felt intensity was MM VI-VIII[...]In New Britain the earthquake caused damage, landslides and ground cracking. (reference #2106)
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
- April 23, 1953, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- November 4, 1923, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
- August 13, 1967, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- March 29, 2015, Papua New Guinea
- January 1, 1916, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- June 22, 1768, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- May 14, 2019, Rabaul, Duke of York Is, Papua New Guinea
- September 17, 1994, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1985The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1985Recent 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 5069.