| Magnitude | 5.8 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 63.2 km |
| Coordinates | -6.985, 155.787 |
| UTC time | 1972-12-16 11:30:18.220 |
Earthquake details
Saturday, December 16, 1972 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Saturday, December 16, 1972 at 11:30 UTC with a magnitude of 5.8. The closest known location in the current dataset is Arawa (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 87.6 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 155.787 and latitude -6.985.
| Location | Arawa |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1972-12-16
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Arawa | 87.6 km |
| Honiara | 533.5 km |
| Lae | 972.0 km |
| Port Moresby | 991.0 km |
| Mount Hagen | 1284.5 km |
| Cairns | 1552.9 km |
| Townsville | 1677.1 km |
| Merauke | 1704.8 km |
| Mackay | 1730.8 km |
| Jayapura | 1743.1 km |
| Abepura | 1750.2 km |
| Port Vila | 1811.4 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
|
M 4.7
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-06 19:03 UTC
|
150.4 km |
|
M 4.9
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-22 09:29 UTC
|
11.8 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 03:06 UTC
|
72.0 km |
|
M 4.2
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-19 07:07 UTC
|
100.0 km |
|
M 4.3
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-12 16:24 UTC
|
34.4 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-19 23:07 UTC
|
76.0 km |
|
M 4.6
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-16 15:49 UTC
|
13.9 km |
|
M 5.1
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-10 13:30 UTC
|
119.0 km |
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