September 6, 1988 Earthquake: Kaiapit (Landslide Generated), Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck Kaiapit (Landslide Generated), Papua New Guinea on September 6, 1988 at 00:42:33 UTC, 0 km below the surface. It killed 74 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
- September 6, 1988
- Time
- 00:42:33 UTC
- Place
- Kaiapit (Landslide Generated), Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 4.3 (ML)
- Focal depth
- 0 km (0 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 6.060° S, 146.230° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Deaths
- 74 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
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.
About 74 people killed and many houses destroyed by a massive landslide near Kaiapit. The P-waves recorded from this event appear to have been generated by the landslide itself.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- 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
- October 31, 1970, Madang, Papua New Guinea
- February 8, 1987, Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea
- October 7, 2023, Madang, Papua New Guinea
- September 25, 1971, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- 1873, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea
- 1875, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea
- August 2, 1969, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- May 6, 2019, Wampar, Morobe, Papua New Guinea
- April 17, 1857, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- February 17, 1951, Papua New Guinea
- June 25, 1979, E, MT Hagen, Papua New Guinea
- March 27, 1984, Karkar, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1988The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1988Recent 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 5170.