M6.5 earthquake near Wewak, East Sepik Province

What happened

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 74 km SW of Angoram, Papua New Guinea on 16 Jul 1980, 19:56 UTC at a depth of 84 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was an intermediate-depth earthquake, so shaking is spread over a wider, gentler area.

The nearest town in our records is Wewak, about 101 km away in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.