Reviewed by USGSAlaska30y ago
M5.1 earthquake 131 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
Friday, September 13, 1996, 13:41:12 UTC · 51.547°N, 178.458°W
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 131 km WSW of Adak, Alaska on Friday, September 13, 1996, 13:41:12 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 8, 1996.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 33 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
117 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: 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on October 12, 1996. 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 814 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.71965 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) EarthquakeFebruary 4, 1965 · 199 km W of this epicenter
- 8.61957 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMarch 9, 1957 · 196 km E of this epicenter
- 8.31906 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 234 km W of this epicenter
- 8.01986 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMay 7, 1986 · 255 km E of this epicenter
- 7.977 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaJune 10, 1996 · 57 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaMarch 30, 1965 · 293 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.65 km WNW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 14, 1905 · 127 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4265 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 4, 1965 · 136 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 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 · 196 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M8.0
Aleutian Islands: Adak
7 May 1986 · 255 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1965M8.7
Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands
4 Feb 1965 · 199 km away · intensity VI
Under $1 million damagetsunami
- 1906M8.3
Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands
17 Aug 1906 · 234 km away
- 1905M7.9
Andreanof Islands
14 Feb 1905 · 91 km away
- 1996M7.9
Andreanof Islands
10 Jun 1996 · 57 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.