Reviewed by USGSAlaska74y ago
M7.0 earthquake 171 km WNW of Attu Station, Alaska
Monday, January 5, 1953, 07:48:28 UTC · 53.631°N, 170.973°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 171 km WNW of Attu Station, Alaska on Monday, January 5, 1953, 07:48:28 UTC, at a depth of 21.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on April 16, 1940.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
115 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
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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 32 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.993 km NW of Attu Station, AlaskaDecember 17, 1929 · 84 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4151 km S of Attu Station, AlaskaSeptember 2, 1907 · 267 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.024 km E of Attu Station, AlaskaApril 16, 1940 · 192 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.080 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaApril 16, 1940 · 245 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0167 km WSW of Attu Station, AlaskaApril 10, 1909 · 154 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8129 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaNovember 13, 1911 · 282 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.895 km SE of Attu Station, AlaskaFebruary 22, 1935 · 266 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.78 km SE of Attu Station, AlaskaOctober 18, 1912 · 180 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1929M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Near Islands
17 Dec 1929 · 131 km away
- 1898M7.6
Aleutian Islands: Near Islands
29 Jun 1898 · 194 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.