| Magnitude | 5.0 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 199.1 km |
| Coordinates | -7.336, 145.880 |
| UTC time | 1996-12-17 20:05:49.120 |
Earthquake details
Tuesday, December 17, 1996 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, December 17, 1996 at 20:05 UTC with a magnitude of 5.0. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 140.9 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 145.880 and latitude -7.336.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1996-12-17
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 140.9 km |
| Mount Hagen | 245.7 km |
| Port Moresby | 276.4 km |
| Merauke | 617.3 km |
| Jayapura | 783.1 km |
| Abepura | 785.4 km |
| Wamena | 848.2 km |
| Cairns | 1067.4 km |
| Arawa | 1077.7 km |
| Nabire | 1232.4 km |
| Townsville | 1331.8 km |
| Tual | 1464.3 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
|
164.9 km |
|
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
|
199.8 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
|
167.5 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
|
228.4 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-16 07:36 UTC
|
206.1 km |
|
M 4.5
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-15 08:53 UTC
|
174.2 km |
|
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 23:50 UTC
|
237.4 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 21:24 UTC
|
175.4 km |
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