| Magnitude | 5.9 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 73.0 km |
| Coordinates | -5.160, 154.700 |
| UTC time | 1981-05-09 16:06:25.540 |
Earthquake details
Saturday, May 9, 1981 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Saturday, May 9, 1981 at 16:06 UTC with a magnitude of 5.9. The closest known location in the current dataset is Arawa (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 152.9 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 154.700 and latitude -5.160.
| Location | Arawa |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1981-05-09
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Arawa | 152.9 km |
| Honiara | 749.8 km |
| Lae | 870.5 km |
| Port Moresby | 961.9 km |
| Mount Hagen | 1162.6 km |
| Jayapura | 1580.1 km |
| Abepura | 1588.1 km |
| Merauke | 1622.8 km |
| Cairns | 1632.1 km |
| Wamena | 1751.7 km |
| Townsville | 1788.6 km |
| Mackay | 1878.0 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
|
100.1 km |
|
M 4.9
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-22 09:29 UTC
|
241.4 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 03:06 UTC
|
188.1 km |
|
M 4.2
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-19 07:07 UTC
|
162.7 km |
|
M 4.3
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-12 16:24 UTC
|
232.4 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-19 23:07 UTC
|
175.9 km |
|
M 4.6
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-16 15:49 UTC
|
222.7 km |
|
M 5.1
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-10 13:30 UTC
|
138.4 km |
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