M5.3 earthquake 134 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 134 km WSW of Adak, Alaska on Tue, May 13, 1986, 7:02 PM HADT (04:02 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 226 km WSW of Adak, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1986-05-14 04:02:31 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 51.485° N, 178.474° W
- Region
- Alaska
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.27 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.3 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 13S, 29C Centroid Location: Origin Time 04:02:35.4 0.7 Lat 51.41N 0.06 Lon 178.63W 0.15 Dep 46.1 5.5 Half-duration 1.7 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**23 D-CM Mrr=6.68 0.53 Mtt=-7.85 0.65 Mff=1.17 0.61 Mrt=2.98 0.80 Mrf=5.84 0.79 Mtf=-2.81 0.65 Principal Axes: (T) Val=10.44 Plg=59 Azm=277 (N) Val=-0.43 Plg=26 Azm=59 (P) Val=-10.01 Plg=17 Azm=157 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.0*10**24 NP1:Strike=280 Dip=36 Slip=138 NP2:Strike=47 Dip=66 Slip=62
From the USGS event page for usp0002tzn. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7201 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 14746 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
- 5.2212 km W of Adak, Alaska · 14746 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
- 4.2203 km W of Adak, Alaska · 14745 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.7107 km SSW of Adak, Alaska · 14727 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.9183 km SW of Adak, Alaska · 14714 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.263 km SW of Adak, Alaska · 14713 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.359 km SW of Adak, Alaska · 14712 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.761 km SW of Adak, Alaska · 14704 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.7226 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 14700 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002tzn (also filed as gcmtb051486c, gcmt19860514040231, iscgem495603). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 5:19 AM UTC.