| Magnitude | 5.1 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 66.9 km |
| Coordinates | -6.707, 147.446 |
| UTC time | 1985-10-16 08:30:21.620 |
Earthquake details
Wednesday, October 16, 1985 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, October 16, 1985 at 08:30 UTC with a magnitude of 5.1. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 49.8 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.446 and latitude -6.707.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1985-10-16
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 49.8 km |
| Port Moresby | 310.1 km |
| Mount Hagen | 368.1 km |
| Merauke | 802.0 km |
| Jayapura | 879.1 km |
| Abepura | 883.5 km |
| Arawa | 899.7 km |
| Wamena | 985.5 km |
| Cairns | 1151.9 km |
| Nabire | 1375.8 km |
| Townsville | 1399.8 km |
| Honiara | 1411.0 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
88.9 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
88.9 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
44.0 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
81.2 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
71.9 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
75.1 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
74.9 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
38.5 km
Stay informed
Earthquake alerts
Create targeted notifications for important seismic activity near the places you follow.