QuakeScout
Magnitude2.9

Reviewed by USGSAlaska11y ago

M2.9 earthquake 284 km ESE of Attu Station, Alaska

Friday, May 1, 2015, 01:33:36 UTC · 52.178°N, 177.231°E

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 284 km ESE of Attu Station, Alaska on Friday, May 1, 2015, 01:33:36 UTC, at a depth of 22.3 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.9
Minor · ml
Depth
22 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Max intensity I
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

338 kg of TNT

That is about 1/44,601 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,413 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

145 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

22 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 742 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 · 145 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 8.31906 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 74 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.9Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaJune 23, 2014 · 109 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.8Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaNovember 17, 2003 · 151 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.6Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaMarch 30, 1965 · 215 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.636 km NE of Attu Station, AlaskaFebruary 2, 1975 · 273 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.4265 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 4, 1965 · 182 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.2238 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaSeptember 8, 1939 · 204 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. 1975M7.6

    Aleutian Islands: Near Islands

    2 Feb 1975 · 272 km away · intensity IX

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  2. 1965M8.7

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    4 Feb 1965 · 145 km away · intensity VI

    Under $1 million damagetsunami

  3. 1906M8.3

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    17 Aug 1906 · 74 km away

  4. 2014M7.9

    Aleutian Islands

    23 Jun 2014 · 109 km away · intensity VI

    tsunami

  5. 1909M7.8

    Aleutian Islands

    10 Apr 1909 · 154 km away

  6. 2003M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    17 Nov 2003 · 151 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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