M4.2 earthquake 84 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 84 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska on Wed, May 13, 1981, 4:51 PM GMT-8 (00:51 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.5 77 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (ML, local (Richter)), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-05-14 00:51:36 UTC
- Depth
- 15.0 km (9.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 59.920° N, 141.037° W
- Region
- Alaska
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001dnr. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 2:29 PM UTC.