Alaska earthquakes

M4.2 earthquake 101 km S of False Pass, Alaska

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 101 km S of False Pass, Alaska on Sat, May 12, 2018, 3:42 AM AKDT (11:42 UTC), 42 km (26 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 160 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

King Cove 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: 4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sat, May 12, 2018, 3:42 AM AKDT
UTC: 2018-05-12 11:42:14 UTC
Depth: 41.6 km (25.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 53.946° N, 163.530° 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
4.2	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.085 · 39 stations
4.2	mb, body-wave	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 5.4 km horizontally, 11.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.09
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 188°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used: 171

Nearest places

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

King Cove, AlaskaPopulation 1,009. Forecast147 kmSSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 142 in the 60 days after this one and 78 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 142.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000e3ks (also filed as ak19461437, ak01862hqm41). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 2:33 AM UTC.