Alaska earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake 94 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 94 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska on Wed, Aug 5, 2020, 8:17 AM AKDT (16:17 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 79 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Sand Point 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: 5.1 (mww), moderate
Local time: Wed, Aug 5, 2020, 8:17 AM AKDT
UTC: 2020-08-05 16:17:40 UTC
Depth: 6.6 km (4.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 54.562° N, 161.091° 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: Strike-slip
Moment magnitude: 5.1 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 246°, dip 55°, rake -167°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 149°, dip 80°, rake -35°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 3.3 km horizontally, 2.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 47°
Stations used: 207

Nearest places

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

Sand Point, AlaskaPopulation 1,064. Forecast94 kmSSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 182 in the 60 days after this one and at least 200 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 182.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000b9r9 (also filed as at00qelmli, ak020a0ssbp0, iscgem618709663). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 12:36 AM UTC.