Reviewed by USGSAlaska1y ago
M2.8 earthquake 96 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 22:00:41 UTC · 54.166°N, 162.499°W
A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck 96 km SE of False Pass, Alaska on Saturday, October 12, 2024, 22:00:41 UTC, at a depth of 16.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.8
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 17 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
239 kg of TNT
That is about 1/63,000 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,995 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
86 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
17 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.9 on October 30, 2024. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.853 km S of King Cove, Alaska1y ago · 47 km N of this epicenter
- 2.679 km S of King Cove, Alaska1y ago · 22 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.984 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska1y ago · 43 km W of this epicenter
- 2.6101 km S of False Pass, Alaska1y ago · 48 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.651 km SE of False Pass, Alaska1y ago · 46 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 402 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 · 78 km S of this epicenter
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 300 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.82020 Perryville, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 22, 2020 · 271 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 192 km E of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 192 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 116 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 99 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 218 km W 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 169 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1946M8.6
Unimak Island
1 Apr 1946 · 78 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 117 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 271 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 134 km away
tsunami
- 2020M7.6
Alaska
19 Oct 2020 · 192 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1948M7.5
Alaska Peninsula
14 May 1948 · 104 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.