| 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 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
148.1 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-22 19:32 UTC
79.0 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-17 22:58 UTC
68.0 km
M 4.8
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-04-04 10:48 UTC
89.0 km
M 4.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-03-09 14:54 UTC
6.7 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-21 05:03 UTC
51.1 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-17 22:52 UTC
30.6 km
M 4.6
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-02-16 07:36 UTC
5.4 km
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