Reviewed by USGSAlaska11d ago
M2.6 earthquake 98 km SE of Akutan, Alaska
Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 03:41:16 UTC · 53.424°N, 164.893°W
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 98 km SE of Akutan, Alaska on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 03:41:16 UTC, at a depth of 4.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.6
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 5 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
120 kg of TNT
That is about 1/125,702 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3,981 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
68 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
5 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 2 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 578 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 · 137 km E of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 189 km W of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 291 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 276 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 70 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 299 km W of this epicenter
- 7.071 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 30, 1991 · 250 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 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 · 137 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 294 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 182 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 209 km away
- 1948M7.5
Alaska Peninsula
14 May 1948 · 281 km away
- 1957M7.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
22 Mar 1957 · 176 km away · intensity V
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.