QuakeScout
Magnitude5.2

Reviewed by USGSAlaska27y ago

M5.2 earthquake 24 km SW of Larsen Bay, Alaska

Sunday, January 16, 2000, 14:18:18 UTC · 57.370°N, 154.245°W

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 24 km SW of Larsen Bay, Alaska on Sunday, January 16, 2000, 14:18:18 UTC, at a depth of 41.6 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on December 7, 1999.

Magnitude
5.2
Moderate · mw
Depth
42 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
—
No ShakeMap
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

951 tons of TNT

That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

189 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

42 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.6 on February 4, 2000. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M5.2
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.723 km WSW of Port Lions, Alaska27y ago · 75 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 3.632 km SSW of Larsen Bay, Alaska27y ago · 9 km S of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 311 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.9Kodiak Island region, AlaskaOctober 9, 1900 · 194 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.14 km ENE of Karluk, AlaskaNovember 7, 1912 · 26 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.0113 km ESE of Chignik, AlaskaMay 4, 1923 · 230 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.026 km SSE of Karluk, AlaskaDecember 6, 1999 · 7 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.0164 km SE of Chignik, AlaskaSeptember 4, 1989 · 265 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 6.9143 km ESE of Chignik, AlaskaFebruary 13, 1951 · 214 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 6.9171 km SW of Akhiok, AlaskaFebruary 6, 1964 · 208 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1900M8.3

    Kodiak Island

    9 Oct 1900 · 56 km away · intensity VIII

    Limited damage (under $1M)

  2. 1788M8.0

    Unga Island

    21 Jul 1788 · 86 km away · intensity VII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  3. 1970M6.0

    Andreanof Islands

    11 Mar 1970 · 25 km away · intensity V

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1792

    Kodiak Island

    1792 · 141 km away · intensity VII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1906M7.6

    Aleutian Islands

    23 Dec 1906 · 61 km away

  6. 1912M7.5

    Alaska Peninsula

    7 Nov 1912 · 47 km away · intensity V

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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