QuakeScout
Magnitude2.6

Reviewed by USGSAlaska5y ago

M2.6 earthquake 206 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska

Thursday, May 20, 2021, 02:10:48 UTC · 53.052°N, 162.672°W

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 206 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska on Thursday, May 20, 2021, 02:10:48 UTC, at a depth of 17.9 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.6
Minor · ml
Depth
18 km
Shallow
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

26 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

18 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M2.9 on June 16, 2021. 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. 2.9233 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska5y ago · 29 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 2.7240 km S of False Pass, Alaska5y ago · 46 km SW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 399 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 · 50 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 264 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 283 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 221 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 7.071 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 30, 1991 · 182 km N of this epicenter
  7. 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 215 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 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 · 50 km away · intensity VI

    168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami

  2. 1788M8.0

    Alaska Peninsula

    6 Aug 1788 · 243 km away

    tsunami

  3. 2020M7.6

    Alaska

    19 Oct 2020 · 264 km away · intensity IX

    tsunami

  4. 1948M7.5

    Alaska Peninsula

    14 May 1948 · 195 km away

  5. 1957M7.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    22 Mar 1957 · 272 km away · intensity V

  6. 1820

    East Aleutian Islands

    1 Mar 1820 · 209 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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