World Map › Major Earthquakes Since 1900 › 1983
Historic Earthquake
1983 Papua New Guinea Earthquake
22 December 1983 · Ulawun, Rabaul · Papua New Guinea
On 22 December 1983 at 01:02 UTC, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea (Ulawun, Rabaul), at a depth of 26 km. It occurred on the South Bismarck Plate, 59 km from its boundary with the Solomon Sea Plate (subduction zone). It killed at least 10 people.
- Date
- 22 December 1983
- Time
- 01:02 UTC
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Depth
- 26 km
- Maximum Intensity
- V (Mercalli)
- Deaths
- 10
- Estimated Damage
- 25 million US dollars
- Plate
- South Bismarck Plate
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Nearest Volcano
- Ulawun (71 km)
Nearby Major Earthquakes
Other major earthquakes recorded within 300 km.
- 2016New Britain New Ireland · M 7.9
- 20002000 New Ireland Earthquakes · M 8.02 deaths
- 1971Bismarck Sea Rabaul · M 8.1
- 19711971 Solomon Islands Earthquakes · M 7.93 deaths
- 1968New Ireland · M 7.8
- 1945New Britain · M 7.8
- 1919Solomon Islands · M 8.2
- 1916Solomon Islands · M 7.9
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Significant Earthquake Database (doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K) · Wikidata · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Natural Earth