Reviewed by USGSAlaska2y ago
M2.6 earthquake 44 km E of Akutan, Alaska
Friday, August 23, 2024, 23:22:41 UTC · 54.064°N, 165.112°W
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 44 km E of Akutan, Alaska on Friday, August 23, 2024, 23:22:41 UTC, at a depth of 81.3 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.6
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 81 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
139 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
81 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.3 on September 16, 2024. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 508 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.6The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska EarthquakeApril 1, 1946 · 163 km E of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 205 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 285 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 263 km E of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 54 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.071 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 30, 1991 · 234 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 214 km S 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 169 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1946M8.6
Unimak Island
1 Apr 1946 · 163 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 286 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 198 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 285 km away
tsunami
- 1917M7.9
Alaska Peninsula
31 May 1917 · 272 km away · intensity V
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 244 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.