Alaska earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 7 km SSE of Point MacKenzie, Alaska

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 7 km SSE of Point MacKenzie, Alaska on Mon, Dec 31, 2018, 6:03 PM AKST (03:03 UTC), 44 km (28 mi) below the surface.

Point MacKenzie 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: 5.0 (ML, local (Richter)), moderate
Magnitude from: Alaska Earthquake Center
Local time: Mon, Dec 31, 2018, 6:03 PM AKST
UTC: 2019-01-01 03:03:30 UTC
Depth: 44.4 km (27.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 61.297° N, 149.952° W
Region: Alaska
Felt reports: 1,073
Strongest shaking: IV, light shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: Yes: a large quake in an oceanic region
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
5.0	ML, local (Richter)	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preferred · Preliminary
4.9	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.053 · 34 stations
5.0	ML, local (Richter)	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 38 stations
4.97	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
4.9	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

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.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: IV, light shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 430.0% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 3.0 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

1,073 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.

Estimated impact

The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.

Alert level: Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected

Deaths: estimated chance of each range
Range	Chance
Under 1	69%
1 to 10	29%
10 to 100	2%
100 to 1,000	Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000	Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000	Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000	Under 1%

Economic losses: estimated chance of each range
Range, million USD	Chance
Under 1	65%
1 to 10	30%
10 to 100	4%
100 to 1,000	Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000	Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000	Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000	Under 1%

Fault motion and ground failure

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

Faulting: Normal
Moment magnitude: 4.9 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 19°, dip 36°, rake -78°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 183°, dip 55°, rake -99°
Landslide alert: Green
Liquefaction alert: Green

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Stations used: 222

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: at least 199 in the 60 days after this one and at least 200 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 ak0191pccr7 (also filed as at00pkmttt, us2000izkl, iscgem614464746). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 1:25 PM UTC.