October 12, 1987 Earthquake: Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea on October 12, 1987 at 13:57:04 UTC, 25 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
- October 12, 1987
- Time
- 13:57:04 UTC
- Place
- Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 25 km (16 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 7.288° S, 154.371° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
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
- May 4, 1907, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- July 20, 1975, Buin, Boku, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- 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
- August 16, 1995, Rabaul, Kokopo, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- January 31, 1974, Solomon Islands
- August 17, 1959, Solomon Islands
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 6471.