A series of earthquakes shook Interior Alaska during the Labor Day weekend, the strongest of which was a magnitude-5.07 that set off more than 200 aftershocks.
The strongest quake, centered about 45 miles northwest of Fairbanks, near Minto, hit Saturday night and was widely felt. Residents from Healy to Manley Hot Springs, Fairbanks and North Pole said they felt rattling for about 10 seconds. There were no reports of damage or injuries.
More quakes followed. Magnitude-4.19 and magnitude-3.49 temblors were reported early Sunday, and a magnitude-4.08 quake rattled the area that afternoon.
State seismologist Michael West told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that the Sunday morning quakes were probably aftershocks. He said more than 200 aftershocks were recorded after the largest quake, but most were too small to be felt.
“At this time, there’s no evidence to suggest that this is part of a larger sequence or there’s something larger to come,” West said, adding there is an active fault in the area. “That said, it always remains a slim possibility following an earthquake like this.”
West said the Saturday night quake resembles one that struck in 1995. That temblor, a magnitude-6.0, struck along the same fault system and with the same orientation. However, the energy release of a magnitude-6.0 earthquake is about 20 times greater than that of a magnitude-5.1.
West’s office is wrapping up planning a project that would set up additional monitoring devices in the Minto Flats region this fall to better understand the fault system. Following the series of quakes, his office will try to expedite the process.
Topics Alaska
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