Here's how the Alaskan earthquake compares to the biggest-ever in U.S. historyOmar Shaikh Rashad July 29, 2021 Updated: July 29, 2021 3:36 p.m. Comments
Omar Shaikh RashadJuly 29, 2021
 A National Weather Service map showing the rippling waves emanating from an 8.2-magnitude earthquake near Alaska.
Via National Weather ServiceThe 8.2-magnitude earthquake that erupted between the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Trench Wednesday night was the strongest U.S. earthquake in 50 years.
The quake occurred at around 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday and was among the top 10 strongest quakes the U.S. has ever seen, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was the eighth-largest in U.S. history and among the 50 largest earthquakes worldwide, according to USGS data.
Earthquakes can also prompt tsunami waves when they cause a large and sudden displacement of the ocean, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warnings for southern parts of Alaska that lasted about two hours. Hawaii was under a tsunami watch by the, which subsided an hour later.
Here are the 10 strongest U.S. earthquakes on record, according to the USGS:
9.2 magnitude Prince William Sound Earthquake, Alaska on March 27, 1964
8.7 magnitude in Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska on February 3, 1965
8.6 magnitude 81 kilometers southeast of Adak, Alaska on March 9, 1957
8.6 magnitude Aleutian Islands (Unimak Island) Earthquake, Alaska on April 1, 1946
8.3 magnitude in Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska on August 17, 1906
8.3 magnitude northwest of Elfin Cove, Alaska on July 9, 1958
8.2 magnitude in Alaska Peninsula on November 10, 1938
8.2 magnitude 104 kilometers southeast of Perryville, Alaska on July 28, 2021
8.0 magnitude 85 kilometers southwest of Atka, Alaska on May 7, 1986
8.0 magnitude 171 kilometers south of Hydaburg, Alaska on August 21, 1949
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