| Magnitude | 5.0 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 80.4 km |
| Coordinates | -6.094, 149.059 |
| UTC time | 1989-12-20 18:07:42.240 |
Earthquake details
Wednesday, December 20, 1989 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, December 20, 1989 at 18:07 UTC with a magnitude of 5.0. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 238.7 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 149.059 and latitude -6.094.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1989-12-20
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 238.7 km |
| Port Moresby | 431.4 km |
| Mount Hagen | 535.2 km |
| Arawa | 720.3 km |
| Merauke | 992.2 km |
| Jayapura | 1007.0 km |
| Abepura | 1013.0 km |
| Wamena | 1142.9 km |
| Honiara | 1257.3 km |
| Cairns | 1257.7 km |
| Townsville | 1486.5 km |
| Nabire | 1534.5 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
222.0 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-22 19:32 UTC
205.1 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-17 22:58 UTC
168.2 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-04-04 10:48 UTC
212.3 km
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
215.5 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
259.5 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
179.0 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-16 07:36 UTC
205.3 km
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