Reviewed by USGSAlaska4mo ago
M2.5 earthquake 96 km SE of Akutan, Alaska
Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 23:38:29 UTC · 53.530°N, 164.723°W
A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 96 km SE of Akutan, Alaska on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 23:38:29 UTC, at a depth of 25.8 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.5
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 26 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 kg of TNT
That is about 1/177,558 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 5,623 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
75 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
26 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 11 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.4 on June 2, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.498 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska3mo ago · 40 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.4100 km SE of Akutan, Alaska3mo ago · 8 km E of this epicenter
- 2.5140 km SE of Akutan, Alaska3mo ago · 48 km E of this epicenter
- 2.7103 km SE of Akutan, Alaska4mo ago · 14 km E of this epicenter
- 2.581 km SSE of Akutan, Alaska4mo ago · 36 km W of this epicenter
- 2.5101 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska4mo ago · 42 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.5100 km SE of Akutan, Alaska4mo ago · 7 km S of this epicenter
- 2.5107 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska4mo ago · 35 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 561 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.6The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska EarthquakeApril 1, 1946 · 125 km E of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 203 km W of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 276 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 261 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 74 km W of this epicenter
- 7.071 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 30, 1991 · 234 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 161 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 169 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1946M8.6
Unimak Island
1 Apr 1946 · 125 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 279 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 196 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 292 km away
tsunami
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 224 km away
- 1948M7.5
Alaska Peninsula
14 May 1948 · 266 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.