| Magnitude | 5.8 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 103.2 km |
| Coordinates | -5.873, 147.167 |
| UTC time | 1997-12-16 23:50:45.200 |
Earthquake details
Tuesday, December 16, 1997 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, December 16, 1997 at 23:50 UTC with a magnitude of 5.8. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 96.5 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.167 and latitude -5.873.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1997-12-16
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 96.5 km |
| Mount Hagen | 325.2 km |
| Port Moresby | 401.2 km |
| Merauke | 801.8 km |
| Jayapura | 806.6 km |
| Abepura | 811.9 km |
| Arawa | 930.6 km |
| Wamena | 932.6 km |
| Cairns | 1239.6 km |
| Nabire | 1324.2 km |
| Honiara | 1464.7 km |
| Townsville | 1491.5 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
|
102.5 km |
|
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
|
17.5 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
|
55.2 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
|
33.3 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-16 07:36 UTC
|
17.8 km |
|
M 4.5
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-15 08:53 UTC
|
59.2 km |
|
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 23:50 UTC
|
77.1 km |
|
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-03 21:24 UTC
|
62.9 km |
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