Reviewed by USGSAlaska11y ago
M4.0 earthquake 125 km SSW of Adak, Alaska
Wednesday, June 3, 2015, 15:09:36 UTC · 50.914°N, 177.594°W
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 125 km SSW of Adak, Alaska on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, 15:09:36 UTC, at a depth of 38.5 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 39 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
47 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
39 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 1,199 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.71965 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) EarthquakeFebruary 4, 1965 · 261 km W of this epicenter
- 8.61957 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMarch 9, 1957 · 152 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.01986 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMay 7, 1986 · 207 km E of this epicenter
- 7.977 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaJune 10, 1996 · 72 km N of this epicenter
- 7.9Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaJune 23, 2014 · 275 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaNovember 17, 2003 · 264 km W of this epicenter
- 7.65 km WNW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 14, 1905 · 125 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4265 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 4, 1965 · 205 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1957M8.6
Alaska
9 Mar 1957 · 152 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M8.0
Aleutian Islands: Adak
7 May 1986 · 207 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1965M8.7
Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands
4 Feb 1965 · 261 km away · intensity VI
Under $1 million damagetsunami
- 1905M7.9
Andreanof Islands
14 Feb 1905 · 70 km away
- 1996M7.9
Andreanof Islands
10 Jun 1996 · 72 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 2014M7.9
Aleutian Islands
23 Jun 2014 · 275 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.