World Map › Major Earthquakes Since 1900 › 1985
Historic Earthquake
1985 Papua New Guinea Earthquake
3 July 1985 · New Britain, Rabaul · Papua New Guinea
On 3 July 1985 at 04:36 UTC, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea (New Britain, Rabaul), at a depth of 46 km. It occurred on the North Bismarck Plate, 54 km from its boundary with the South Bismarck Plate (continental transform fault). It triggered a tsunami.
- Date
- 3 July 1985
- Time
- 04:36 UTC
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Depth
- 46 km
- Maximum Intensity
- VII (Mercalli)
- Estimated Damage
- 1 million US dollars
- Tsunami
- Yes
- Plate
- North Bismarck Plate
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Nearest Volcano
- Rabaul (Tavurvur) (73 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
- 20002000 New Ireland Earthquakes · M 7.8
- 1971Bismarck Sea Rabaul · M 8.1
- 19711971 Solomon Islands Earthquakes · M 7.93 deaths
- 1968New Ireland · 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