Reviewed by USGSAlaska5mo ago
M3.1 earthquake 94 km S of King Cove, Alaska
Sunday, April 12, 2026, 20:19:16 UTC · 54.216°N, 162.366°W
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 94 km S of King Cove, Alaska on Sunday, April 12, 2026, 20:19:16 UTC, at a depth of 10.5 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.1
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 11 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
674 kg of TNT
That is about 1/22,353 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 708 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
89 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
11 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 19 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on May 3, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.9102 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska4mo ago · 48 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.7117 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska4mo ago · 30 km S of this epicenter
- 2.591 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska4mo ago · 20 km W of this epicenter
- 3.185 km SE of False Pass, Alaska4mo ago · 14 km W of this epicenter
- 2.998 km SSE of King Cove, Alaska4mo ago · 40 km E of this epicenter
- 2.6120 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska4mo ago · 37 km S of this epicenter
- 2.654 km S of King Cove, Alaska4mo ago · 41 km N of this epicenter
- 2.982 km SSE of False Pass, Alaska4mo ago · 32 km W of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 417 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 · 86 km S of this epicenter
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 289 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.82020 Perryville, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 22, 2020 · 261 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 182 km E of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 182 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.32025 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2025 · 129 km E of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 106 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 89 km NE 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 · 86 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 108 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 261 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 292 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 124 km away
tsunami
- 2020M7.6
Alaska
19 Oct 2020 · 182 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.