Denali National Park, Alaska Earthquake

First Posting | Summary
Posting Date: November 4, 2002, 7:00:00 AM

A major earthquake struck central Alaska on Sunday, November 3, 2002, at about 1:12 p.m. local time (22:12 UTC). The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) has initially estimated the magnitude to be 7.9, with a focal depth of about 3 miles (5 km). The quake was centered near Denali National Park, about 40 miles (65 km) east of Healy, Alaska, population about 1,000, and 75 miles (120 km) south of Fairbanks. This is roughly the same area in which a magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurred on October 23rd. Sunday's earthquake, one of the strongest ever recorded in the United States, lasted at least 30 seconds and was felt throughout Alaska. There have been reports of damage to three major roads in Alaska, including the Alaska Highway, the Richardson Highway, and the Tok Cutoff, where rock slides and 6-foot cracks have closed the roadway. The Trans-Alaska oil pipeline was shut down after reports of damage to the support structures. There has been only one report of an injury so far. Preliminary indications suggest the earthquake was a strike-slip event located along the central segment of the Denali fault, historically one of the most active crustal faults in central Alaska. While the fault has been considered capable of generating earthquakes as large as magnitude 8, no quake that large has been recorded since the beginning of the previous century. Large events that have occurred previously on the Denali fault include earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 in 1912 and 6.2 in 1958. AIR expects that insured losses from this event will be minimal.

First Posting | Downloads
Posting Date: November 4, 2002, 7:00:00 AM