| Magnitude | 5.3 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 35.1 km |
| Coordinates | -6.400, 149.100 |
| UTC time | 1987-12-31 00:31:35.210 |
Earthquake details
Thursday, December 31, 1987 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Thursday, December 31, 1987 at 00:31 UTC with a magnitude of 5.3. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 235.4 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 149.100 and latitude -6.400.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1987-12-31
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 235.4 km |
| Port Moresby | 404.4 km |
| Mount Hagen | 542.3 km |
| Arawa | 715.7 km |
| Merauke | 987.6 km |
| Jayapura | 1024.8 km |
| Abepura | 1030.5 km |
| Wamena | 1154.1 km |
| Cairns | 1226.4 km |
| Honiara | 1242.9 km |
| Townsville | 1453.7 km |
| Nabire | 1545.7 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
270.8 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
207.2 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-22 19:32 UTC
201.1 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-17 22:58 UTC
168.1 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-04-04 10:48 UTC
206.8 km
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
223.8 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
266.4 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
188.7 km
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