User:Quake1234/sandbox4
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (June 2024) |
| UTC time | 2024-06-18 00:49:58 |
|---|---|
| Local date | 18 June 2024 |
| Local time | 08:49 PGT |
| Magnitude | 6.1 Ms 6.0 Mw |
| Depth | 7 km (4 mi) |
| Epicenter | 6°20′38″S 146°17′38″E / 6.344°S 146.294°E |
| Type | Oblique-slip |
| Areas affected | New Guinea Prefecture, Papua |
| Max. intensity | MMI VIII (Severe) |
| Casualties | 17 dead, 1,385 injured |
On 18 June 2024, at 08:49:58 PGT (00:49 UTC), a magnitude 6.0-6.1 earthquake struck Morobe Province, Papua, 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Mutsing.[1]
Tectonic setting[edit]
The primary tectonic feature of the 1,200 km (750 mi) island chain is the New Hebrides Subduction Zone, the convergent boundary of the Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates. Along the Wadati–Benioff zone, earthquake activity has been observed as shallow, intermediate, and deep-focus events at depths of up to 700 km (430 mi). Volcanic activity is also present along this north-northwest trending and northeast-dipping oceanic trench.[2]
While much of the island arc experiences intermediate-depth earthquakes along a Wadati–Benioff zone that dips steeply at 70°, the area adjacent to the d'Entrecasteaux Ridge does not. There is a corresponding gap in seismicity that occurs below 50 km (31 mi) where it intrudes into the subduction zone from the west. According to the NUVEL-1 global relative plate motion model, convergence is occurring at roughly 8 cm (3.1 in) per year. The uncertainty, which also affects the Tonga arc, is due to the influence of spreading at the North Fiji Basin.[3]
Earthquake[edit]
Intensity[edit]
| Intensity | Province | Location | Population exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIII | Morobe | Intoap | 68k |
| VII | Morobe | Mutzing | 303k |
| VI | Morobe | Kaiapit, Watarais, Umiatzera | 706k |
| Highlands | Agarabi | ||
| V | Morobe | Gusap, Wantoat, Wampar, Nadzab | 6,678k |
| Highlands | Kainantu, Yonki | ||
| Madang | Nayudo, Nahorawa | ||
| IV | Morobe | Lae, Labuta, Kabwum, Wasu | 38,410k |
| Highlands | Goroka, Heganofi | ||
| Madang | Saidor, Rai Coast, Astrolabe Bay, Usino |
Impact[edit]
Morobe[edit]
The town of Intoap was the hardest-hit area of the affected region.[4] There, over 1,756 houses collapsed and 4,609 others were damaged, with 15 deaths and 1,108 injuries recorded in the town.[5]
In Mutzing, 47 people were injured, 38 houses collapsed and 44 others were damaged, along with two schools and a church.[6][7] At least 116 houses were destroyed and 2,304 others were damaged in Kaiapit, where 79 people were injured and power outages occurred.[8][9][10] One person died of a heart attack, 73 others were injured, four houses collapsed and 221 others, 106 schools and four residential buildings were damaged in Watarais.[11] In Umiatzera, one house collapsed and seven others were damaged,[12] while 10 buildings were damaged in Gusap.[13]
Highlands[edit]
Structural damage and two building fires occurred in Kainantu.[14] One house collapsed in the city, killing a 56-year-old man.[15] Twenty injuries were also reported, primarily from shattered glass and falling debris.[16][17] Some gas lines broke, prompting utility companies to shut off service.[18] In Agarabi, 130 houses were destroyed, 1,893 others were damaged, and 48 people were injured, including five after a house collapsed.[19][20]
Madang[edit]
In Nayudo, 10 people were hospitalized, two houses collapsed and 68 others were damaged.[21] Some buildings cracked in Madang.[22]