QuakeScout
Magnitude2.5

Reviewed by USGSAlaska18y ago

M2.5 earthquake in Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Sunday, September 14, 2008, 15:37:06 UTC · 51.531°N, 177.169°E

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck in Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska on Sunday, September 14, 2008, 15:37:06 UTC, at a depth of 21.3 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.5
Minor · ml
Depth
21 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: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

85 kg of TNT

That is about 1/177,558 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 5,623 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

76 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

21 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 50 km

USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.2 on September 30, 2008. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M2.5
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 3.2Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska18y ago · 35 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 689 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.71965 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) EarthquakeFebruary 4, 1965 · 112 km E of this epicenter
  2. 8.31906 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 78 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.8Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaNovember 17, 2003 · 111 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.6Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaMarch 30, 1965 · 147 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.4265 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 4, 1965 · 168 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.2238 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaSeptember 8, 1939 · 165 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.2207 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaDecember 19, 2007 · 231 km E of this epicenter
  8. 7.2238 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaMarch 22, 1905 · 211 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1965M8.7

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    4 Feb 1965 · 112 km away · intensity VI

    Under $1 million damagetsunami

  2. 1906M8.3

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    17 Aug 1906 · 78 km away

  3. 1909M7.8

    Aleutian Islands

    10 Apr 1909 · 158 km away

  4. 2003M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    17 Nov 2003 · 111 km away

    tsunami

  5. 1965M7.6

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    30 Mar 1965 · 145 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1940M7.4

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    14 Jul 1940 · 88 km away

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

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