QuakeScout
Magnitude2.6

Reviewed by USGSAlaska4y ago

M2.6 earthquake 69 km NNE of Akutan, Alaska

Saturday, May 14, 2022, 21:56:59 UTC · 54.715°N, 165.400°W

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 69 km NNE of Akutan, Alaska on Saturday, May 14, 2022, 21:56:59 UTC, at a depth of 178.1 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
2.6
Minor · ml
Depth
178 km
Intermediate
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: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

120 kg of TNT

That is about 1/125,702 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3,981 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

212 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: intermediate

178 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M2.7 on May 27, 2022. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M2.6
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.744 km NE of Akutan, Alaska4y ago · 41 km S of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 413 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.6The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska EarthquakeApril 1, 1946 · 216 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 240 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 273 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 107 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.071 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 30, 1991 · 245 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 284 km S of this epicenter
  7. 6.980 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 24, 1980 · 245 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, which together caused about 168 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1946M8.6

    Unimak Island

    1 Apr 1946 · 216 km away · intensity VI

    168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami

  2. 1965M6.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    2 Jul 1965 · 234 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  3. 1788M8.0

    Alaska Peninsula

    6 Aug 1788 · 283 km away

    tsunami

  4. 1917M7.9

    Alaska Peninsula

    31 May 1917 · 239 km away · intensity V

  5. 1902M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    1 Jan 1902 · 292 km away

  6. 1948M7.5

    Alaska Peninsula

    14 May 1948 · 284 km away

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

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