Reviewed by USGSAlaska10y ago
M2.9 earthquake 72 km SSE of Nikolski, Alaska
Saturday, January 30, 2016, 01:32:47 UTC · 52.382°N, 168.293°W
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 72 km SSE of Nikolski, Alaska on Saturday, January 30, 2016, 01:32:47 UTC, at a depth of 32.2 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.9
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 32 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
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
32 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 616 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8234 km SSW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 7, 1929 · 194 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 82 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4133 km WNW of Nikolski, AlaskaApril 18, 1916 · 198 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaJune 24, 2011 · 244 km W of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 229 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 70 km NW 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. The most severe:
- 1901M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
31 Dec 1901 · 214 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 88 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M7.9
Alaska Peninsula
31 May 1917 · 273 km away · intensity V
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 54 km away
- 1907M7.8
Aleutian Islands
2 Sep 1907 · 100 km away
- 1929M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
7 Mar 1929 · 194 km away · intensity V
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.