Alaska earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 203 km S of Sand Point, Alaska

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 203 km S of Sand Point, Alaska on Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 8:49 PM AKST (05:49 UTC), 10 km (7 mi) below the surface.

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: 5.3 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 8:49 PM AKST
UTC: 2020-12-16 05:49:23 UTC
Depth: 10.5 km (6.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 53.523° N, 160.064° W
Region: Alaska
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
5.3	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.038 · 67 stations
5.24	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.3	Mww, W-phase moment	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preliminary
5.2	ML, local (Richter)	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 10 stations
5.3	Mi	NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center	First automatic solution · Reviewed · 12 stations
5.3	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS, automatic first solution	First automatic solution · Confirmed

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: Normal
Moment magnitude: 5.3 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 247°, dip 17°, rake -65°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 41°, dip 75°, rake -97°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.8 km horizontally, 2.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 55°
Stations used: 148

Nearest places

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

Sand Point, AlaskaPopulation 1,064. Forecast204 kmS

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 187 in the 60 days after this one and 158 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 187.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000crgf (also filed as at00qlf46e, ak020g4kwja8, usauto7000crgf, pt20351000, iscgem619611120). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 11:14 AM UTC.