M4.8 earthquake 105 km SSW of Adak, Alaska

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 105 km SSW of Adak, Alaska on Fri, Nov 15, 1996, 4:46 AM HAST (14:46 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.4 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.

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
4.8	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · 50 stations
4.8	mb, body-wave	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preliminary

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (II) on Adak.

From the USGS event page for usp0007t28. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 23 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0007t28 (also filed as ak996epgl0ja). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:56 AM UTC.