| Magnitude | 5.3 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 56.1 km |
| Coordinates | -5.938, 149.605 |
| UTC time | 1997-11-20 17:26:04.680 |
Earthquake details
Thursday, November 20, 1997 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Thursday, November 20, 1997 at 17:26 UTC with a magnitude of 5.3. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 301.6 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 149.605 and latitude -5.938.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1997-11-20
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 301.6 km |
| Port Moresby | 478.0 km |
| Mount Hagen | 595.2 km |
| Arawa | 660.6 km |
| Merauke | 1055.1 km |
| Jayapura | 1056.7 km |
| Abepura | 1063.1 km |
| Wamena | 1199.4 km |
| Honiara | 1205.6 km |
| Cairns | 1292.4 km |
| Townsville | 1514.4 km |
| Nabire | 1590.8 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
281.5 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-22 19:32 UTC
267.9 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-17 22:58 UTC
231.0 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-04-04 10:48 UTC
274.9 km
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
275.9 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
320.3 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
239.1 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-16 07:36 UTC
265.8 km
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