October 7, 2023 Earthquake: Madang, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Madang, Papua New Guinea on October 7, 2023 at 08:40:13 UTC, 76 km below the surface.
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 7, 2023
- Time
- 08:40:13 UTC
- Place
- Madang, Papua New Guinea
- Magnitude
- 6.9 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 76 km (47 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 5.507° S, 146.198° E
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 200
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
Reference #13620:
According to information from the Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazards Management, theearthquake occurred as a result of the subduction collision of the South Bismarck Sea Plate and the SolomonSea Plate, beneath the Finsterer range in Madang Province. The earthquake was felt in Madang, Mt Hagen, Chimbu and Morobe provinces. Another major aftershock occurred at 6.40 pm local time within the vicinity. This significant event (M6.9 earthquake) occurred at a depth of 71 km, followed by another moderate earthquake (M5.4) which occurred at 7.18 pm at a depth of 114 km.
Some old buildings, including family homes cracked and tilted to one side while some collapsed. Power wentoff. More destruction occurred, store goods shelved from all shops in town fell, computers in offices and TV screens at homes fell, some families fell with their houses.
More than 200 houses from the settlements in town collapsed, old buildings in the central business centre andresidential areas cracked and tilted. The town’s PNG Port service main wharf cracked, PNG Power pylons fells and significant damages were done to Meiro Power station that resulted in the power disruption in the first quake.
The airport runway also cracked in certain spots including the new Tapo Bridge.
Note: Reference #13456 lists a separate magnitude 6.7 (Mw) earthquake occurring approximately 6 minutes prior at 2023-10-07 08:34:26 (UTC), 5.600°S 146.132°E
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
- October 31, 1970, Madang, Papua New Guinea
- February 8, 1987, Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea
- 1873, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea
- April 17, 1857, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- June 25, 1979, E, MT Hagen, Papua New Guinea
- 1875, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea
- March 27, 1984, Karkar, Papua New Guinea
- September 25, 1971, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- August 2, 1969, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- September 30, 1930, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- May 6, 2019, Wampar, Morobe, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 2023The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2023Recent 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 10711.