Reviewed by USGSAlaska6mo ago
M2.7 earthquake 103 km E of Akutan, Alaska
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 14:30:17 UTC · 54.019°N, 164.206°W
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 103 km E of Akutan, Alaska on Thursday, March 19, 2026, 14:30:17 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.7
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 35 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
169 kg of TNT
That is about 1/88,990 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2,818 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
112 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
35 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 10 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.7 on March 24, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.5103 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 24 km S of this epicenter
- 2.695 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 17 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.7112 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 31 km S of this epicenter
- 2.9115 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 32 km S of this epicenter
- 2.889 km S of False Pass, Alaska5mo ago · 40 km E of this epicenter
- 3.163 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 47 km W of this epicenter
- 3.0118 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska6mo ago · 22 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.793 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska6mo ago · 23 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 496 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 · 108 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 254 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.32025 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2025 · 250 km E of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 228 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 208 km E of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 106 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 · 108 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 229 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 247 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 234 km away
tsunami
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 284 km away
- 1948M7.5
Alaska Peninsula
14 May 1948 · 215 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.