| Magnitude | 5.5 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 24.2 km |
| Coordinates | -6.441, 147.652 |
| UTC time | 1987-03-16 12:21:39.030 |
Earthquake details
Monday, March 16, 1987 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Monday, March 16, 1987 at 12:21 UTC with a magnitude of 5.5. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 79.0 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.652 and latitude -6.441.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1987-03-16
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 79.0 km |
| Port Moresby | 342.5 km |
| Mount Hagen | 384.2 km |
| Merauke | 831.9 km |
| Arawa | 875.9 km |
| Jayapura | 883.8 km |
| Abepura | 888.7 km |
| Wamena | 999.4 km |
| Cairns | 1184.8 km |
| Nabire | 1390.5 km |
| Honiara | 1396.0 km |
| Townsville | 1430.6 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
95.5 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
66.9 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
7.4 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
115.1 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
102.4 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
46.4 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
74.3 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
62.4 km
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