| Magnitude | 5.1 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 51.6 km |
| Coordinates | -6.363, 149.323 |
| UTC time | 1987-10-17 00:45:42.740 |
Earthquake details
Saturday, October 17, 1987 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Saturday, October 17, 1987 at 00:45 UTC with a magnitude of 5.1. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 260.4 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 149.323 and latitude -6.363.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1987-10-17
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 260.4 km |
| Port Moresby | 421.3 km |
| Mount Hagen | 566.5 km |
| Arawa | 690.9 km |
| Merauke | 1012.5 km |
| Jayapura | 1045.6 km |
| Abepura | 1051.5 km |
| Wamena | 1177.4 km |
| Honiara | 1220.4 km |
| Cairns | 1237.7 km |
| Townsville | 1462.0 km |
| Nabire | 1569.0 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
|
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-04-04 10:48 UTC
|
231.7 km |
|
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
|
247.4 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
|
290.3 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
|
211.8 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-16 07:36 UTC
|
237.3 km |
|
M 4.5
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-15 08:53 UTC
|
300.0 km |
|
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 23:50 UTC
|
175.2 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 21:24 UTC
|
304.7 km |
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