Alaska earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 289 km SE of Chiniak, Alaska

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 289 km SE of Chiniak, Alaska on Thu, Mar 8, 2018, 3:37 PM AKST (00:37 UTC), 17 km (11 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 228 km SE of Chiniak, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.0 (mww), moderate
Local time: Thu, Mar 8, 2018, 3:37 PM AKST
UTC: 2018-03-09 00:37:15 UTC
Depth: 17.0 km (10.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 55.631° N, 149.221° W
Region: Alaska
Tsunami flag: Yes: a large quake in an oceanic region
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Tsunami

The USGS flags a quake this large in an oceanic region. The flag does not mean a tsunami happened; the tsunami warning centers decide that, and their messages are below when they issued any.

Current tsunami warnings: tsunami.gov. Warnings in force in the US also appear on our alerts pages.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Oblique reverse
Moment magnitude: 5.0 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 351°, dip 51°, rake 150°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 101°, dip 67°, rake 43°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 6.4 km horizontally, 3.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.05
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 125°
Stations used: 193

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: at least 201 in the 60 days after this one and at least 200 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of at least 201.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000d1wy (also filed as ak18634722, ak01834grki3, at00p5ase4, iscgem612140613). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 7:41 PM UTC.