Historic Earthquakes

Rat Islands, Alaska
1965 02 04, 05:01 and 08:40 UTC (local Feb 3)
Magnitude 8.7

On Adak Island, cracks occurred in prefabricated wood buildings; on Shemya Island, cracks were observed in an asphalt runway. Hairline cracks also formed in the runways at the U.S. Coast Guard Loran Station on Attu Island. This earthquake generated a tsunami reported to be about 10.7 meters high on Shemya Island. Loss caused by flooding on Amchitka Island was estimated at about $10,000. An aftershock at 07:40 UTC was assigned MMI VI.

Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.