January 10, 2002 Earthquake: Aitape, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Aitape, Papua New Guinea on January 10, 2002 at 11:14:56 UTC, 11 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- January 10, 2002
- Time
- 11:14:56 UTC
- Place
- Aitape, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 6.7 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 11 km (7 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 3.212° S, 142.427° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 200
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.
One person killed and 200 houses and 250 water tanks destroyed in the Aitape area. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 17, 1998, Sissano, Papua New Guinea
- April 2, 2023, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea
- March 23, 2024, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea
- September 8, 2002, Kairiru Is, Muschu Is, Wewak, Papua New Guinea
- December 15, 1907, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- February 22, 1951, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- July 3, 1918, N Coast, Papua New Guinea
- August 7, 1931, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- July 29, 1917, Papua New Guinea
- October 23, 1968, N Coast, Wewak, Dagua, Papua New Guinea
- September 20, 1935, N-Central, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 2002The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2002Recent 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 5616.