Reviewed by USGSAlaska6mo ago
M2.7 earthquake 159 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska
Friday, March 13, 2026, 07:02:49 UTC · 53.424°N, 163.665°W
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 159 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska on Friday, March 13, 2026, 07:02:49 UTC, at a depth of 17.1 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.7
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 17 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
37 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
17 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 12 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.8 on March 21, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.7112 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 50 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.9115 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 47 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.6154 km S of False Pass, Alaska5mo ago · 6 km N of this epicenter
- 2.5112 km SE of Akutan, Alaska5mo ago · 50 km W of this epicenter
- 2.5155 km S of False Pass, Alaska6mo ago · 6 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.8128 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska6mo ago · 39 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.9143 km SE of Akutan, Alaska6mo ago · 38 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.9142 km SE of Akutan, Alaska6mo ago · 39 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 491 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 · 56 km E of this epicenter
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 269 km W of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 295 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.32025 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2025 · 244 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 218 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 209 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 144 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 · 56 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 222 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 262 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 246 km away
tsunami
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 281 km away
- 2020M7.6
Alaska
19 Oct 2020 · 295 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.