Reviewed by USGSAlaska87y ago
M7.0 earthquake 24 km E of Attu Station, Alaska
Tuesday, April 16, 1940, 06:43:10 UTC · 52.849°N, 173.551°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 24 km E of Attu Station, Alaska on Tuesday, April 16, 1940, 06:43:10 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on September 8, 1939.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 30 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: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
567 kilotons of TNT
That is about 38 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,189 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
133 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
30 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 lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on May 11, 1940. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 26 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 · 111 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4151 km S of Attu Station, AlaskaSeptember 2, 1907 · 158 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2238 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaSeptember 8, 1939 · 227 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.080 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaApril 16, 1940 · 71 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0167 km WSW of Attu Station, AlaskaApril 10, 1909 · 190 km W of this epicenter
- 6.8129 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaNovember 13, 1911 · 124 km S of this epicenter
- 6.895 km SE of Attu Station, AlaskaFebruary 22, 1935 · 79 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1909M7.8
Aleutian Islands
10 Apr 1909 · 136 km away
- 1929M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Near Islands
17 Dec 1929 · 144 km away
- 1898M7.6
Aleutian Islands: Near Islands
29 Jun 1898 · 141 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.