QuakeScout
Magnitude2.7

Reviewed by USGSAlaska2y ago

M2.7 earthquake 37 km SSW of Akutan, Alaska

Thursday, May 2, 2024, 17:25:06 UTC · 53.812°N, 165.962°W

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 37 km SSW of Akutan, Alaska on Thursday, May 2, 2024, 17:25:06 UTC, at a depth of 72.8 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
2.7
Minor · ml
Depth
73 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

169 kg of TNT

That is about 1/88,990 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2,818 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

134 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

73 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M2.7 on May 27, 2024. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M2.7
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.758 km SE of Unalaska, Alaska2y ago · 37 km S of this epicenter
  2. 2.546 km SSE of Akutan, Alaska2y ago · 29 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 612 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 · 209 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 143 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 13 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 248 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.071 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 30, 1991 · 296 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 187 km S of this epicenter
  7. 6.980 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 9, 1957 · 289 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 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 · 209 km away · intensity VI

    168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami

  2. 1965M6.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    2 Jul 1965 · 136 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  3. 1917M7.9

    Alaska Peninsula

    31 May 1917 · 232 km away · intensity V

  4. 1902M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    1 Jan 1902 · 188 km away

  5. 1907M7.8

    Aleutian Islands

    2 Sep 1907 · 285 km away

  6. 1916M7.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    18 Apr 1916 · 273 km away

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

Nearby trackers

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