Very strong and shallow M6.9 earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

A very strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.9 hit New Guinea, Papua New Guinea at 20:22 UTC on March 23, 2024 (07:22 LT, March 24). The agency is reporting a depth of 35.4 km (21.9 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.8 at a depth of 50 km (31 miles).

The epicenter was located 32.1 km (19.9 miles) ENE of Ambunti (population 2 073), 88.7 km (55.1 miles) SW of Wewak (population 18 230), and 228.7 km (142.1 miles) NNW of Mount Hagen (population 33 623), Papua New Guinea.

167 000 people are estimated to have felt very strong shaking, 250 000 strong, 206 000 moderate and 2 517 000 light.

Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake, NWS PTWC said.

The USGS issued a Yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities. Some casualties are possible and the impact should be relatively localized. Past events with this alert level have required a local or regional level response.

A Green alert was issued for economic losses. There is a low likelihood of damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are informal (metal, timber, GI etc.) and unreinforced brick masonry construction.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.

Liquefaction triggered by this earthquake is estimated to be extensive in severity and (or) spatial extent.

The number of people living near areas that could have produced liquefaction in this earthquake is significant. However, this is not a direct estimate of liquefaction fatalities or losses, the USGS said.

Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking

Selected cities exposed

Regional seismicity

Featured image credit: TW/SAM, Google