Reviewed by USGSAlaska11d ago
M2.9 earthquake 58 km SE of Akutan, Alaska
Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 02:57:10 UTC · 53.825°N, 165.056°W
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 58 km SE of Akutan, Alaska on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 02:57:10 UTC, at a depth of 47.2 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.9
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 47 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
338 kg of TNT
That is about 1/44,601 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,413 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
113 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
47 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.7 on September 18, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 569 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 · 151 km E of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 195 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 287 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 267 km E of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 47 km W of this epicenter
- 7.071 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 30, 1991 · 239 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 188 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 · 151 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 289 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 187 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 293 km away
tsunami
- 1917M7.9
Alaska Peninsula
31 May 1917 · 285 km away · intensity V
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 227 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.