Scientists at the Alaska Earthquake Center are monitoring a series of earthquakes near Adak Island in the western Aleutians, with at least eight quakes exceeding magnitude 5 since March 20.
Residents in Adak have felt the shaking but there haven’t been any reported injuries or damage. Vice mayor of Adak Addison McKown said items haven’t fallen off shelves, and large appliances haven’t moved, but residents are prepared if a larger earthquake occurred.
“In general, people are taking stock and making sure there's no damage to things,” she said.
Earthquakes are common in the Aleutian Islands because the region sits where the Pacific plate is pushing beneath the North American plate, creating the Aleutian subduction zone. Experts say it’s best practice for residents to always be prepared because scientists can’t predict when earthquakes will occur and how large they’ll be.
McKown said the City of Adak is in the process of revitalizing its tsunami shelter and will help residents make their own disaster preparedness plans.
“For me, we have a cat,” McKown said. “So I make sure we have a couple days of cat food for her, in case there were to be a severe event.”
Scientists have classified these most recent earthquakes as a ‘tectonic swarm’ given their number, strength and location on a major plate boundary.
This marks the second major tectonic swarm in the Adak area within months, following a similar pattern in December when a dozen strong quakes between magnitude 5 and 6.3 occurred within a few hours. McKown said residents do wonder why that’s the case.
The Alaska Earthquake Center said more research is needed to understand why and how some locations along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone are more prone to swarms than others.
The Alaska Earthquake Center will continue to monitor the activity and expects the swarm to persist in the area over the coming weeks.
