| Magnitude | 5.3 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 50.0 km |
| Coordinates | -6.070, 147.241 |
| UTC time | 1978-01-12 21:34:22.600 |
Earthquake details
Thursday, January 12, 1978 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Thursday, January 12, 1978 at 21:34 UTC with a magnitude of 5.3. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 77.6 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.241 and latitude -6.070.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1978-01-12
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 77.6 km |
| Mount Hagen | 334.1 km |
| Port Moresby | 379.4 km |
| Merauke | 801.6 km |
| Jayapura | 824.1 km |
| Abepura | 829.1 km |
| Arawa | 921.6 km |
| Wamena | 945.4 km |
| Cairns | 1218.8 km |
| Nabire | 1336.8 km |
| Honiara | 1450.7 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
48.7 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
22.3 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
64.6 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
114.6 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
145.4 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
33.6 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
25.0 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
61.4 km
Stay informed
Earthquake alerts
Create targeted notifications for important seismic activity near the places you follow.