QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.8ml

113 km SSE of Chignik, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 4.8 earthquake was recorded 113 km SSE of Chignik, Alaska at 09:55 UTC on 2021-12-12, 7.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 7.4 km deep · released about 240 tons of TNT

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Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Magnitude
M 4.8 (ml)
Depth
7.4 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity II (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1722 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 170 km (106 mi) from the epicentre. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 710× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.8 about 240 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 500× more

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 8.2 on 2021-07-29 — about 130,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 105 km ESE of Perryville, Alaska · 16 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 121 km SE of Chignik, Alaska · 21 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 98 km ESE of Perryville, Alaska · 22 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 116 km SE of Perryville, Alaska · 37 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 121 km SE of Perryville, Alaska · 37 km SSW of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 55.4154, -157.4819. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Aftershocks so far

57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.9 130 km SE of Perryville, Alaska
  2. 2.4 138 km SSE of Chignik, Alaska
  3. 4.4 119 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  4. 3.0 111 km SE of Perryville, Alaska
  5. 1.9 109 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  6. 3.2 114 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  7. 3.0 123 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  8. 3.5 125 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  9. 4.3 Alaska Peninsula
  10. 2.2 126 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  11. 3.9 126 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  12. 2.2 112 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  13. 3.3 124 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  14. 4.3 112 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  15. 1.6 90 km SE of Chignik, Alaska

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.