Very strong earthquake almost below Papua New Guinea Finschhafen – NO damage expected

Last update: October 14, 2011 at 5:27 am by By

Earthquake overview : A very strong earthquake at intermediate depth occurred very close to the PNG town of Finschhafen.
“I have Felt it” Reports –> see below + Let us know “how you have felt this earthquake”
To read the full story as it happened, we advise our readers to start at the lower part of the page (earthquake data).

Keep this page open or return regularly as we will be back with more details when they become available

 

Locations in the direct epicenter area - distance scale : epicenter to Finschhafen = approx. 10 km

UPDATE :   Stuff.co.nz reports (ER:very reliable source) : Jacobeth David, a spokeswoman for the Morobe Provincial Government in the area, said the quake caused no damage and was barely noticed. Lae police and hotel receptionists also said there were no reports of damage or sea level changes.

UPDATE :   People in this area of the world are mostly auto-evacuating the beaches when a serious shaking hits them. We do not expect this to happen today based on the MMI values.

UPDATE :   Important historical earthquakes in the area :
1987-03-16    Distance from this epicenter 37 km     M 5.6    MMI VI (28k)    0 shaking deaths
1993-10-16    Distance from this epicenter 200 km    M 6.3    MMI VII (75k)    3 shaking deaths
2005-06-04    Distance from this epicenter 125 km    M 6.1    MMI VII (27k)    1 shaking deaths

UPDATE :  After working though all these data, Earthquake-Report changes the impact from our RED very dangerous label towards the Orange moderately dangerous label

UPDATE :  the GDACS tsunami information below was based on the USGS aparameters which were slight heavier than the data from the other agencies.

UPDATE :  VI Finschhafen 1k, V Lae 76k,  IV Bulolo 16k, IV Wau 15k, IV Kandrian 1k, IV Kainantu 9k, IV Popondetta 28k, III Kimbe 19k, III Madang 27k,  III Goroka 19k, III Port Moresby 284k
K=1000 + MMI VI = strong shaking, V= moderate shaking, IV light shaking.
It is a very good sign that the reported shaking LAE was (only) III vs the theoretical value of V

UPDATE : GDACS, the European organization has made an attempt to theoretically calculate the wave impact of this earthquake on coastal settlements. Gdacs expect a max. waveheight of 0.9 meter at Butaweng and 0.7 meter at Gauinlabu. The picture below shows the relatively small wave impact area.

Tsunami map courtesy GDACS

UPDATE:  Earthquake-Report.com calls this earthquake very dangerous because of the location close to the beaches of a number of coastal locations.

UPDATE: An intensity III (weak shaking) has been reported in Lae to USGS. Lae is approx. 100 km from the epicenter.

UPDATE: All the houses in the coastal villages (except parts of Finschhafen) are almost completely build in wood and bamboo. This area is used to frequent strong, very strong and even massive earthquakes.

UPDATE: Ther maximum expected MMI is VI (strong shaking). This MMI will be experienced by 49,000 people

UPDATE: The intermediate depth has a weakening effect on the shaking

UPDATE : Data from other agencies than USGS :
EMSC :  6.7 @ 44 km
GFZ :  6.4 @ 52 km
AUSTRALIA =  6.5 @ 42 km
The data of the other seismological agencies are confirming the intermediate depth and put the magnitude somewhat lower.

UPDATE :  The Pacific Tsunami center published the following report : NO DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS BASED ON  HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA. This does not exclude an eventual local tsunami.  The location of the epicenter is NOT on a subduction mount which excludes already that a seaslide could be triggered as was the case in earlier PNG destructive earthquakes

The direct area of this earthquake has a lot of coastal villages.  The closest locations are : Gagidu, Finschhafen, Kwalansam and Kamlaua

“I Have Felt It” reports as received by Earthquake-Report.com
- No Felt reports as yet, be the first to send us what you experienced.

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 6.7
UTC Time :  Friday, October 14, 2011 at 03:35:15 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Friday, October 14, 2011 at 01:35:15 PM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 45 km
Geo-location(s) :
10 km from Finschhafen,eastern PNG
103 km (64 miles) E of Lae, New Guinea, PNG
184 km (114 miles) WSW of Kandrian, New Britain, PNG

Links to important maps
USGS Did You Feel It Map
Google satellite map showing the epicenter and the surrounding area.
Historic earthquakes map
Seismic hazard map
Shaking map
Focal mechanism report
Human impact map
GDACS earthquake report
GDACS tsunami report
NOAA tsunami report

QuakeSOS+ and QuakeSOS free are iPhone applications developed by Armand Vervaeck, the founder of Earthquake Report. The Application simplifies immediate group communication to friends and family members (with your exact GPS location) and is feeding the users with Earthquake Report news. The 0.99 US$ QuakeSOS+ version will support the activities of SOS Earthquakes.

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I did feel it – Ik heb het gevoeld – Το έκανα αισθάνεται –Yo lo he sentido – 我的确感到了 – 私はそれを感じていました- Ich habe es gefühlt – Bunu hissediyorum yaptı – لم أشعر أنه

Country and location
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Tell us where in which location you felt the earthquake
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Your Email address might help us if we request for additional details about your experience. This field is NOT mandatory. It is up to you to give it or not.
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People :
Felt by persons at rest, on upper floors or favorably placed.
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People :
Felt indoors; hanging objects may swing, vibration similar to passing of light trucks, duration may be estimated, may not be recognized as an earthquake.
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People :
Generally noticed indoors but not outside. Light sleepers may be awakened. Vibration may be likened to the passing of heavy traffic, or to the jolt of a heavy object falling or striking the building.
Fittings :
Doors and windows rattle. Glassware and crockery rattle. Liquids in open vessels may be slightly disturbed. Standing motorcars may rock.
Structures :
Walls and frames of buildings, and partitions and suspended ceilings in commercial buildings, may be heard to creak.
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People :
Generally felt outside, and by almost everyone indoors. Most sleepers awakened. A few people alarmed.
Fittings :
Small unstable objects are displaced or upset. Some glassware and crockery may be broken. Hanging pictures knock against the wall. Open doors may swing. Cupboard doors secured by magnetic catches may open. Pendulum clocks stop, start, or change rate.
Structures :
Some large display windows cracked. A few earthenware toilet fixtures cracked.
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People Felt by all. People and animals alarmed. Many run outside. Difficulty experienced in walking steadily.
Fittings :
Objects fall from shelves. Pictures fall from walls. Some furniture moved on smooth floors, some unsecured free-standing fireplaces moved. Glassware and crockery broken. Very unstable furniture overturned. Small church and school bells ring. Appliances move on bench or table tops. Filing cabinets or "easy glide" drawers may open (or shut).
Structures :
Slight damage to buildings with low standard. Some stucco or cement plaster falls. Large display windows broken. Damage to a few weak domestic chimneys, some may fall.
Environment :
Trees and bushes shake, or are heard to rustle. Loose material may be dislodged from sloping ground, e.g. existing slides, talus slopes, shingle slides.
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People
General alarm. Difficulty experienced in standing. Noticed by motorcar drivers who may stop.
Fittings :
Large bells ring. Furniture moves on smooth floors, may move on carpeted floors. Substantial damage to fragile contents of buildings.
Structures :
Unreinforced stone and brick walls cracked. Low standard buildings cracked with some minor masonry falls. A few instances of damage to buildings of ordinary workmanship. Unbraced parapets, unbraced brick gables, and architectural ornaments fall. Roofing tiles, especially ridge tiles may be dislodged. Many unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, often falling from roof-line. Water tanks Type I burst. A few instances of damage to brick veneers and plaster or cement-based linings. Unrestrained water cylinders (hot-water cylinders) may move and leak. Some common windows cracked. Suspended ceilings damaged.
Environment :
Water made turbid by stirred up mud. Small slides such as falls of sand and gravel banks, and small rock-falls from steep slopes and cuttings. Instances of settlement of unconsolidated or wet, or weak soils. Some fine cracks appear in sloping ground. A few instances of liquefaction (i.e. small water and sand ejections).
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People Alarm may approach panic. Steering of motorcars greatly affected. Structures : Low standard buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. ordinary workmanship buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged in some cases. A few instances of damage to buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes. Monuments and pre-1976 elevated tanks and factory stacks twisted or brought down. Some pre-1965 infill masonry panels damaged. A few post-1980 brick veneers damaged. Decayed timber piles of houses damaged. Houses not secured to foundations may move. Most unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, some below roof-line, many brought down. Environment : Cracks appear on steep slopes and in wet ground. Small to moderate slides in roadside cuttings and unsupported excavations. Small water and sand ejections and localized lateral spreading adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
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Structures Many low standard buildings destroyed. Ordinary workmanship buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes damaged in some cases, some with flexible frames seriously damaged. Damage or permanent distortion to some buildings and bridges, designed and built to normal use standards. Houses not secured to foundations shifted off. Brick veneers fall and expose frames. Environment : Cracking of ground conspicuous. Landsliding general on steep slopes. Liquefaction effects intensified and more widespread, with large lateral spreading and flow sliding adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
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