| Magnitude | 5.0 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 95.9 km |
| Coordinates | -6.466, 147.053 |
| UTC time | 1988-12-23 17:13:55.010 |
Earthquake details
Friday, December 23, 1988 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Friday, December 23, 1988 at 17:13 UTC with a magnitude of 5.0. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 29.3 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.053 and latitude -6.466.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1988-12-23
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 29.3 km |
| Mount Hagen | 319.6 km |
| Port Moresby | 335.4 km |
| Merauke | 767.7 km |
| Jayapura | 828.0 km |
| Abepura | 832.5 km |
| Wamena | 936.3 km |
| Arawa | 942.2 km |
| Cairns | 1172.5 km |
| Nabire | 1326.9 km |
| Townsville | 1425.2 km |
| Honiara | 1459.5 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
38.8 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
70.6 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
73.1 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
65.9 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
110.4 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
72.1 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
33.1 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
17.0 km
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