Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.2mb
229 km W of Adak, Alaska
Yes. A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was recorded 229 km W of Adak, Alaska at 02:13 UTC on 2020-02-04, 97 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 4.2 (mb)
- Depth
- 97 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2400 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 57 km (35 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 30 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 5,600× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.2 about 30 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 63× 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 5.2 on 2016-11-23 — about 32 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 33 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 237 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 45 km S of this epicentre
- 6.7 205 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 36 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.7 227 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.7 221 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 30 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.7 239 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 50 km S 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 51.7558, -179.9560. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 216 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 2.2 206 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 3.2 232 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
- 2.0 222 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 2.2 229 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 2.8 226 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
- 1.7 216 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
- 1.9 221 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 1.8 200 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
- 2.5 215 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 3.2 192 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 2.2 226 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 2.6 217 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 3.1 210 km W of Adak, Alaska
- 2.2 207 km W of Adak, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.