M5.1 earthquake 45 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska

Wednesday, August 19, 2020, 19:45:59 UTC · 54.943°N, 160.314°W

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 45 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, 19:45:59 UTC, at a depth of 43.9 km (shallow). USGS received 4 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on August 18, 2020.

Tsunami flagUSGS sets this flag for large events in oceanic regions so tsunami warning centers review them. It does not by itself mean a tsunami occurred. Check tsunami.gov and local authorities for official messages.

Magnitude: 5.1; Moderate · mww
Depth: 44 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 4; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: Flag; Check tsunami.gov

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

674 tons of TNT

That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

132 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

44 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
99661<br>0.320	IV · Light	2	58 km
99612<br>0.330	IV · Light	1	120 km
99577<br>0.330	II · Weak	1	956 km

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 75 km

USGS lists 29 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on September 17, 2020. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 343 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 168 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1946M8.6
Unimak Island
1 Apr 1946 · 230 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 110 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 137 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 44 km away
tsunami
2020M7.6
Alaska
19 Oct 2020 · 58 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
1948M7.5
Alaska Peninsula
14 May 1948 · 66 km away

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

Nearby trackers