February 8, 1987 Earthquake: Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea on February 8, 1987 at 18:33:58 UTC, 55 km below the surface. It killed 3 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
- February 8, 1987
- Time
- 18:33:58 UTC
- Place
- Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 7.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 55 km (34 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 6.088° S, 147.689° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Damage
- $2.6 million
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
Multiple event. Three people killed by a landslide and some damage (VI) on the Huan Peninsula. Several hundred people homeless and moderate damage (VII), landslides and ground cracks on Umboi Island. Liquefaction occurred in some sands on Malai Island. Felt (VI) in the Cape Gloucester area, New Britain. Felt (III) as far away as Wewak and Port Moresby, New Guinea and Rabaul, New Britain. (Reference #1053)
Reference #1250 lists $2.625 million dollars damage.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 6, 1988, Kaiapit (Landslide Generated), Papua New Guinea
- October 13, 1993, Upper Markham Valley, Eastern, Papua New Guinea
- April 1, 2002, Morobe, Papua New Guinea
- September 10, 2022, Morobe, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea
- July 17, 2020, Morobe, Oro, Papua New Guinea
- May 12, 1938, Papua New Guinea
- 1875, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea
- April 17, 1857, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- May 6, 1947, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- August 2, 1969, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- October 11, 1913, Papua New Guinea
- July 5, 1988, Kandrian, Arawe, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- October 19, 1899, Bismrack Sea, Papua New Guinea
- September 17, 1900, Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea
- September 25, 1971, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1987The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1987Recent 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 5126.