Magnitude 8.0 Mw Areas affected Papua New Guinea Casualties 2 killed | Depth 33 kilometres (21 mi) Tsunami Yes | |
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Date November 16, 2000 (2000-11-16) | ||
The 2000 New Ireland earthquakes occurred off the coast of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea on November 16 and 17.
The mainshock was a magnitude 8.0 Mw strike-slip event that occurred on November 16 at 04:54 UTC, and ruptured a section of the transform boundary between the north and south Bismarck plates. A 7.8 magnitude thrust earthquake followed at 07:42 UTC with its epicenter 175 km south of the first earthquake at the southern end of its rupture zone at 5.496°S 151.781°E / -5.496; 151.781. Another 7.8 magnitude thrust event occurred on November 17 at 21:01 UTC, this time occurring 174 km south west of the initial event at 5.233°S 153.102°E / -5.233; 153.102 in eastern New Britain.
This sequence of earthquakes killed two people, and triggered landslides in southern New Ireland. Damage caused by the events and the following tsunami occurred in New Britain, Duke of York Island, western Bougainville and Buka. The magnitude 8.0 event was the largest earthquake to occur in the world during 2000.