Alaska earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake 38 km WSW of Adak, Alaska

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 38 km WSW of Adak, Alaska on Wed, Jul 24, 1996, 2:53 PM HADT (23:53 UTC), 55 km (34 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.0 Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.1 (mwc), moderate
Local time: Wed, Jul 24, 1996, 2:53 PM HADT
UTC: 1996-07-24 23:53:22 UTC
Depth: 54.6 km (33.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 51.701° N, 177.124° 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.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Reverse (thrust)
Nodal plane 1: Strike 213°, dip 25°, rake 79°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 46°, dip 66°, rake 95°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 24 in the 60 days after this one and 29 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0007mjy (also filed as gcmtb072496g, gcmt19960724235322, ak9969h2pvbl, iscgem977048). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:58 PM UTC.