| Magnitude | 5.5 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 45.1 km |
| Coordinates | -5.996, 147.167 |
| UTC time | 1997-12-19 01:07:20.940 |
Earthquake details
Friday, December 19, 1997 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Friday, December 19, 1997 at 01:07 UTC with a magnitude of 5.5. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 83.1 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.167 and latitude -5.996.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1997-12-19
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 83.1 km |
| Mount Hagen | 325.5 km |
| Port Moresby | 387.5 km |
| Merauke | 796.9 km |
| Jayapura | 813.0 km |
| Abepura | 818.1 km |
| Arawa | 930.0 km |
| Wamena | 935.6 km |
| Cairns | 1226.0 km |
| Nabire | 1327.1 km |
| Honiara | 1460.8 km |
| Townsville | 1477.8 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
M 4.9
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-10-04 01:38 UTC
66.3 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-10-03 17:24 UTC
6.0 km
M 5.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-09-24 23:30 UTC
27.0 km
M 5.2
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-09-14 22:06 UTC
83.9 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-08-23 10:44 UTC
44.6 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
23.8 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
76.1 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
118.7 km
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