2002 Wewak earthquake

The shock struck the north coast of Papua New Guinea at about 4:45 am local time on 9 September, with the epicentre placed roughly 70 km west-northwest of Wewak. Four people were confirmed dead on Kairuru Island, off Wewak in East Sepik Province. Villagers at Aitape, on the coast further west, reported a tsunami of 1 to 1.5 m. Magnitude estimates differ: moment magnitude 7.4 against a Richter magnitude of 7.7, with an early bulletin giving 7.5.

Origin time (UTC)

2002-09-08T18:44

Magnitude

7.6

Magnitude type

mwc

Depth (km)

13

Deaths, as sources state them

4

USGS event page

earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usp000bbpf

Category: Disasters & Incidents

Tags: papua new guinea, wewak, east sepik, tsunami

Coordinates: -3.302, 142.945

Part of Earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 and above in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands since 1990

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