| 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 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-08-23 10:44 UTC
53.0 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
22.3 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
85.1 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
131.5 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
168.6 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
45.5 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
35.9 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
81.9 km
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