Alaska earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 89 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 89 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska on Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 3:10 PM AKST (00:10 UTC), 33 km (20 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: 5.0 (mww), moderate
Local time: Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 3:10 PM AKST
UTC: 2020-12-19 00:10:42 UTC
Depth: 32.7 km (20.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 54.646° N, 159.780° W
Region: Alaska
Felt reports: 2
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?

2 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, 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: 5.0 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 266°, dip 82°, rake -4°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 357°, dip 86°, rake -172°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 3.9 km horizontally, 3.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.05
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 72°
Stations used: 381

Nearest places

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

Sand Point, AlaskaPopulation 1,064. Forecast89 kmSSE

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 us7000csam (also filed as at00qlk8hv, ak020g9gb39x, iscgem619617383). Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 11:38 PM UTC.