World Map › Major Earthquakes Since 1900 › 1987
Historic Earthquake
1987 Papua New Guinea Earthquake
16 October 1987 · New Britain, Kandrian · Papua New Guinea
On 16 October 1987 at 20:48 UTC, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea (New Britain, Kandrian), at a depth of 48 km. It occurred on the South Bismarck Plate, 90 km from its boundary with the Solomon Sea Plate (subduction zone). It triggered a tsunami.
- Date
- 16 October 1987
- Time
- 20:48 UTC
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- Depth
- 48 km
- Maximum Intensity
- VIII (Mercalli)
- Tsunami
- Yes
- Plate
- South Bismarck Plate
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Nearest Volcano
- Langila (109 km)
Nearby Major Earthquakes
Other major earthquakes recorded within 300 km.
- 20222022 Papua New Guinea Earthquake · M 7.621 deaths
- 1987Huon Peninsula, Umboi Island · M 7.63 deaths
- 1964New Britain · M 7.6
- 1945New Britain · M 7.8
- 1920New Britain · M 7.7
- 1906New Britain · M 8.0
- 1905Bismarck Sea · M 7.5
- 1902Papua New Guinea · M 7.8
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Significant Earthquake Database (doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K) · Wikidata · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Natural Earth