| Magnitude | 5.0 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 50.5 km |
| Coordinates | -6.105, 147.919 |
| UTC time | 1987-12-31 15:25:03.990 |
Earthquake details
Thursday, December 31, 1987 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Thursday, December 31, 1987 at 15:25 UTC with a magnitude of 5.0. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 123.1 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.919 and latitude -6.105.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1987-12-31
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 123.1 km |
| Port Moresby | 384.8 km |
| Mount Hagen | 409.3 km |
| Arawa | 846.4 km |
| Merauke | 871.2 km |
| Jayapura | 892.6 km |
| Abepura | 898.0 km |
| Wamena | 1019.5 km |
| Cairns | 1226.9 km |
| Honiara | 1377.5 km |
| Nabire | 1411.0 km |
| Townsville | 1470.1 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
|
104.6 km |
|
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
|
89.7 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
|
133.5 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
|
54.1 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-16 07:36 UTC
|
79.6 km |
|
M 4.5
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-15 08:53 UTC
|
142.4 km |
|
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 23:50 UTC
|
26.6 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 21:24 UTC
|
147.0 km |
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