| Magnitude | 5.5 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 46.0 km |
| Coordinates | -5.521, 153.810 |
| UTC time | 1978-09-20 15:20:25.900 |
Earthquake details
Wednesday, September 20, 1978 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, September 20, 1978 at 15:20 UTC with a magnitude of 5.5. The closest known location in the current dataset is Arawa (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 209.8 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 153.810 and latitude -5.521.
| Location | Arawa |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1978-09-20
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Arawa | 209.8 km |
| Lae | 766.0 km |
| Honiara | 805.4 km |
| Port Moresby | 856.7 km |
| Mount Hagen | 1061.8 km |
| Jayapura | 1491.1 km |
| Abepura | 1498.8 km |
| Merauke | 1517.4 km |
| Cairns | 1542.6 km |
| Wamena | 1656.1 km |
| Townsville | 1708.2 km |
| Mackay | 1810.9 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
|
124.4 km |
|
M 4.9
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-22 09:29 UTC
|
273.6 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 03:06 UTC
|
205.7 km |
|
M 4.2
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-19 07:07 UTC
|
175.5 km |
|
M 4.3
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-12 16:24 UTC
|
255.6 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-19 23:07 UTC
|
197.8 km |
|
M 4.6
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-16 15:49 UTC
|
258.7 km |
|
M 5.1
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-10 13:30 UTC
|
153.8 km |
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