Reviewed by USGSAlaska37y ago
M3.7 earthquake 75 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska
Tuesday, September 12, 1989, 15:56:19 UTC · 56.117°N, 157.225°W
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 75 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska on Tuesday, September 12, 1989, 15:56:19 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.7
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 33 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
5 tons of TNT
That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
187 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
33 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 250 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 120 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 209 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.14 km ENE of Karluk, AlaskaNovember 7, 1912 · 238 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0113 km ESE of Chignik, AlaskaMay 4, 1923 · 42 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0164 km SE of Chignik, AlaskaSeptember 4, 1989 · 102 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9105 km ESE of Perryville, AlaskaNovember 17, 1938 · 85 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9143 km ESE of Chignik, AlaskaFebruary 13, 1951 · 68 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1900M8.3
Kodiak Island
9 Oct 1900 · 253 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1788M8.0
Unga Island
21 Jul 1788 · 277 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1970M6.0
Andreanof Islands
11 Mar 1970 · 254 km away · intensity V
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 101 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 268 km away
tsunami
- 1906M7.6
Aleutian Islands
23 Dec 1906 · 220 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.