Alaska earthquakes

M2.9 earthquake 161 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 161 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska on Wed, Jan 27, 2016, 8:24 PM AKST (05:24 UTC), 38 km (24 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.1 80 km SSE of Akutan, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Akutan forecast More in Alaska

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 2.9 (ML, local (Richter)), micro
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Wed, Jan 27, 2016, 8:24 PM AKST
UTC: 2016-01-28 05:24:42 UTC
Depth: 38.0 km (23.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 53.408° N, 163.663° W
Region: Alaska
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
2.9	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
2.9	ML, local (Richter)	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preliminary

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.0 km horizontally, 10.1 km in depth
Station coverage gap: 223°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used: 23

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Akutan, AlaskaPopulation 1,040. Forecast161 kmESE

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 77 in the 60 days after this one and 48 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 77.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20004xwe (also filed as ak0161ae64c1, ak12542861). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 7:51 PM UTC.