M5.2 earthquake 85 km E of Adak, Alaska
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 85 km E of Adak, Alaska on Mon, Oct 28, 1996, 10:01 AM HAST (20:01 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1996-10-28 20:01:44 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 51.811° N, 175.395° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.13 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 5.1 | Mw, moment | Alaska Earthquake Center | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (III) on Adak.
From the USGS event page for usp0007s2u. 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.
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 256°, dip 25°, rake 116°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 48°, dip 67°, rake 78°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5108 km SE of Adak, Alaska · 10927 days ago · 33 km deep · 53 km away
- 5.033 km SE of Adak, Alaska · 10903 days ago · 48 km deep · 60 km away
- 3.991 km SW of Atka, Alaska · 10891 days ago · 33 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.726 km ESE of Adak, Alaska · 10878 days ago · 68 km deep · 59 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0007s2u (also filed as gcmtb102896e, gcmt19961028200144, ak996dvs7sf6, iscgem994267). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 6:32 PM UTC.