| Magnitude | 5.0 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 65.2 km |
| Coordinates | -4.488, 153.259 |
| UTC time | 1997-09-20 12:31:54.880 |
Earthquake details
Saturday, September 20, 1997 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Saturday, September 20, 1997 at 12:31 UTC with a magnitude of 5.0. The closest known location in the current dataset is Arawa (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 320.9 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 153.259 and latitude -4.488.
| Location | Arawa |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1997-09-20
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Arawa | 320.9 km |
| Lae | 737.1 km |
| Port Moresby | 873.9 km |
| Honiara | 921.6 km |
| Mount Hagen | 1012.5 km |
| Jayapura | 1410.2 km |
| Abepura | 1418.5 km |
| Merauke | 1489.8 km |
| Wamena | 1589.2 km |
| Cairns | 1607.8 km |
| Townsville | 1788.1 km |
| Mackay | 1907.2 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
|
M 4.7
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-06 19:03 UTC
|
243.7 km |
|
M 4.9
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-22 09:29 UTC
|
396.7 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 03:06 UTC
|
331.5 km |
|
M 4.2
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-19 07:07 UTC
|
301.5 km |
|
M 4.3
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2026-01-12 16:24 UTC
|
381.1 km |
|
M 4.4
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-19 23:07 UTC
|
322.2 km |
|
M 4.6
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-16 15:49 UTC
|
380.2 km |
|
M 5.1
Arawa
Papua New Guinea · 2025-12-10 13:30 UTC
|
278.2 km |
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