Alaska earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake 88 km SSE of Adak, Alaska

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 88 km SSE of Adak, Alaska on Sat, Mar 22, 2025, 12:49 AM HADT (09:49 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.6 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2025-03-22 09:49:21 UTC
Depth
20.0 km (12.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
51.154° N, 176.107° W
Region
Alaska
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.ScaleComputed byNotes
5.6Mww, W-phase momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterPreferred · Reviewed · ±0.045 · 48 stations
5.6Mww, W-phase momentAlaska Earthquake CenterPreliminary
5.4MiNOAA National Tsunami Warning CenterReviewed · 5 stations
5.5Mwb, body-wave momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterMoment tensor · Reviewed
5.5Mwr, regional momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterMoment tensor · Reviewed
5.6Mww, W-phase momentUSGS, automatic first solutionFirst 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.

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
2.3% of gravity
Peak ground velocity
1.3 cm/s
Map
Automatic
USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter
Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

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
RangeChance
Under 169%
1 to 1029%
10 to 1002%
100 to 1,000Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000Under 1%
Economic losses: estimated chance of each range
Range, million USDChance
Under 165%
1 to 1030%
10 to 1004%
100 to 1,000Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000Under 1%

Fault motion and ground failure

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

Faulting
Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude
5.6 Mww
Nodal plane 1
Strike 270°, dip 24°, rake 117°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 60°, dip 69°, rake 79°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 4.5 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.04
Depth from
From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap
135°
Stations used
103

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 100 in the 60 days after this one and 159 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 100.

Before

Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000plu1 (also filed as at00stirae, usauto7000plu1, ak0253q46kf8). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:22 PM UTC.