| Magnitude | 7.6 |
| Alert | Extreme |
| Depth | 35.0 km |
| Coordinates | -6.222, 147.561 |
| UTC time | 1938-05-12 15:39:06.260 |
Earthquake details
Thursday, May 12, 1938 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Thursday, May 12, 1938 at 15:39 UTC with a magnitude of 7.6. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 83.8 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.561 and latitude -6.222.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Extreme |
Earthquake map 1938-05-12
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 83.8 km |
| Port Moresby | 365.2 km |
| Mount Hagen | 370.9 km |
| Merauke | 829.5 km |
| Jayapura | 863.3 km |
| Abepura | 868.4 km |
| Arawa | 885.8 km |
| Wamena | 983.7 km |
| Cairns | 1207.2 km |
| Nabire | 1375.1 km |
| Honiara | 1412.0 km |
| Townsville | 1454.4 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-08-23 10:44 UTC
81.8 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
40.7 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
27.0 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
122.2 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
125.6 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
20.5 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
58.1 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
65.5 km
Stay informed
Earthquake alerts
Create targeted notifications for important seismic activity near the places you follow.