Alaska earthquakes

M5.2 earthquake 87 km SSE of Adak, Alaska

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 87 km SSE of Adak, Alaska on Wed, Mar 19, 2025, 9:07 PM HADT (06:07 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.2 88 km SSE of Adak, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.2 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Wed, Mar 19, 2025, 9:07 PM HADT
UTC: 2025-03-20 06:07:08 UTC
Depth: 20.0 km (12.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 51.153° N, 176.121° W
Region: Alaska
Felt reports: 2
Strongest shaking: IV, light shaking
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
5.2	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.059 · 28 stations
5.2	Mww, W-phase moment	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preliminary
5.2	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS, automatic first solution	First automatic solution · Confirmed

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: 1.3% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 0.9 cm/s
Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

2 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: Oblique reverse
Moment magnitude: 5.2 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 280°, dip 26°, rake 124°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 63°, dip 68°, rake 74°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.7 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.06
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 121°
Stations used: 238

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: at least 199 in the 60 days after this one and 52 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 us6000pzxa (also filed as usauto6000pzxa, ak0253mr2jhs). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 9:33 AM UTC.