| Magnitude | 5.1 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 65.3 km |
| Coordinates | -6.063, 147.182 |
| UTC time | 1997-12-23 03:05:30.780 |
Earthquake details
Tuesday, December 23, 1997 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, December 23, 1997 at 03:05 UTC with a magnitude of 5.1. The closest known location in the current dataset is Lae (Papua New Guinea - PG), about 76.3 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 147.182 and latitude -6.063.
| Location | Lae |
| Country | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1997-12-23
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Lae | 76.3 km |
| Mount Hagen | 327.6 km |
| Port Moresby | 380.1 km |
| Merauke | 795.8 km |
| Jayapura | 817.9 km |
| Abepura | 823.0 km |
| Arawa | 928.1 km |
| Wamena | 938.8 km |
| Cairns | 1218.8 km |
| Nabire | 1330.3 km |
| Honiara | 1457.2 km |
| Townsville | 1470.4 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
42.8 km
M 4.7
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-07-22 10:58 UTC
26.3 km
M 5.1
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-28 02:59 UTC
70.4 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-06-22 18:24 UTC
112.5 km
M 5.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-30 22:45 UTC
147.6 km
M 4.3
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-27 00:34 UTC
40.0 km
M 4.0
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 14:35 UTC
19.8 km
M 4.4
Lae
Papua New Guinea · 2026-05-23 03:51 UTC
61.0 km
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