Alaska earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 275 km ESE of Chiniak, Alaska

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 275 km ESE of Chiniak, Alaska on Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 2:21 PM AKST (23:21 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 256 km ESE of Chiniak, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (mww), moderate
Local time: Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 2:21 PM AKST
UTC: 2018-01-23 23:21:22 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 56.600° N, 148.136° W
Region: Alaska
Felt reports: 4
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?

4 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

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: 5.3 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 141°, dip 56°, rake 140°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 256°, dip 58°, rake 42°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 6.5 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.08
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 82°
Stations used: 157

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: at least 199 in the 60 days after this one and 108 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of at least 199.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000cngq (also filed as ak18191541, at00p317jp, ak01812f6iha, iscgem611835795). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 6:57 AM UTC.