| Magnitude | 5.4 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 51.0 km |
| Coordinates | -6.071, 147.274 |
| UTC time | 1978-01-04 09:39:31.800 |
Earthquake details
Wednesday, January 4, 1978 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, January 4, 1978 at 09:39 UTC with a magnitude of 5.4. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 78.9 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.274 and latitude -6.071.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1978-01-04
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 78.9 km |
| Mount Hagen | 337.8 km |
| Port Moresby | 379.4 km |
| Merauke | 805.0 km |
| Jayapura | 827.3 km |
| Abepura | 832.4 km |
| Arawa | 917.9 km |
| Wamena | 949.0 km |
| Cairns | 1219.2 km |
| Nabire | 1340.4 km |
| Honiara | 1447.2 km |
| Townsville | 1469.8 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
52.1 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
20.3 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
61.6 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
116.2 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
144.6 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
30.0 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
28.3 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
62.3 km
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