Reviewed by USGSAlaska6mo ago
M2.5 earthquake 99 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska
Sunday, March 15, 2026, 10:26:53 UTC · 54.502°N, 159.948°W
A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 99 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska on Sunday, March 15, 2026, 10:26:53 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.5
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 10 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
10 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 46 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on March 26, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.287 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 16 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.599 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 13 km W of this epicenter
- 2.999 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 22 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.586 km S of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 40 km W of this epicenter
- 2.7109 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 13 km SW of this epicenter
- 3.198 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 11 km W of this epicenter
- 3.290 km S of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 26 km W of this epicenter
- 3.390 km S of Sand Point, Alaska5mo ago · 19 km W of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 407 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 · 219 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 136 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.22021 Chignik, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 29, 2021 · 163 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.82020 Perryville, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 22, 2020 · 107 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 24 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 55 km N of this epicenter
- 7.32025 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2025 · 34 km W of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 54 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 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 · 219 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 53 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 107 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 148 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 2021M8.2
Alaska Peninsula
29 Jul 2021 · 163 km away · intensity VIII
tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 87 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.