Reviewed by USGSAlaska1mo ago
M2.5 earthquake 123 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska
Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 18:03:47 UTC · 53.779°N, 163.873°W
A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 123 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 18:03:47 UTC, at a depth of 19.3 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.5
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 19 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
79 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
19 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 16 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on August 21, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.6106 km S of False Pass, Alaska23d ago · 21 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.5155 km S of False Pass, Alaska25d ago · 37 km S of this epicenter
- 2.5118 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska28d ago · 6 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.6108 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska29d ago · 29 km W of this epicenter
- 2.9107 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska29d ago · 28 km W of this epicenter
- 2.5114 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska1mo ago · 16 km W of this epicenter
- 2.795 km S of False Pass, Alaska1mo ago · 49 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.8107 km S of False Pass, Alaska1mo ago · 46 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 501 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 · 76 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 265 km W of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 292 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.32025 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2025 · 238 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 214 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 125 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 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 · 76 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 217 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 258 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 230 km away
tsunami
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 287 km away
- 2020M7.6
Alaska
19 Oct 2020 · 291 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.