M8.0 earthquake 1986 Atka, Alaska Earthquake

Wednesday, May 7, 1986, 22:47:10 UTC · 51.520°N, 174.776°W

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck 1986 Atka, Alaska Earthquake on Wednesday, May 7, 1986, 22:47:10 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.6 on March 9, 1957.

Magnitude: 8.0; Great · mw
Depth: 33 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

15 megatons of TNT

That is about 1,002 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 31,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

74 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

33 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 400 km

USGS lists 278 M2.5+ earthquakes within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on May 17, 1986. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 397 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1957M8.6
Alaska
9 Mar 1957 · 59 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1986M8.0
Aleutian Islands: Adak
7 May 1986 · 0 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1901M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
31 Dec 1901 · 260 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1905M7.9
Andreanof Islands
14 Feb 1905 · 278 km away
1971M7.1
Andreanof Islands
2 May 1971 · 168 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
1986M6.4
Andreanof Islands
17 May 1986 · 92 km away
tsunami

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

Nearby trackers