September 17, 1994 Earthquake: Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea on September 17, 1994 at 16:51:33 UTC, 33 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
- September 17, 1994
- Time
- 16:51:33 UTC
- Place
- Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Volcano
- The eruption it came with
- Epicenter
- 4.166° S, 152.429° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
At 251 am on Sunday morning, 18 September, two strong earthquakes ocurred beneath the harbour, the first near Tavurvur and the second near Vulcan. The second event was stronger - ML 5.1. These earthquakes produced a significant tsunami in the harbour. Numerous felt earthquakes, many with magnitudes equal to or larger than ML 3.5 ocurred between 5 pm Sunday and 3 am Monday. A ML 4.1 earthquake at 8:54 pm produced a small tsunami at the Main Wharf but most of the small shallow earthquakes produced no tidal disturbances (reference #44)
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
- November 16, 2000, New Ireland, Duke of York, Papua New Guinea
- February 4, 1878, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- March 10, 1989, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- February 25, 1910, Matupi Harbor, Papua New Guinea
- May 8, 1911, Matupit Island, Papua New Guinea
- May 14, 2019, Rabaul, Duke of York Is, Papua New Guinea
- December 12, 1934, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- August 13, 1967, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- September 10, 1900, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- July 3, 1985, Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- April 23, 1953, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- March 29, 2015, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1994The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1994Recent 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 10747.