M7.3 earthquake 2025 Sand Point, Alaska Earthquake

Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 20:37:41 UTC · 54.565°N, 160.469°W

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 2025 Sand Point, Alaska Earthquake on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 20:37:41 UTC, at a depth of 38.0 km (shallow). USGS received 192 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VII (very strong). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.2 on July 29, 2021.

Tsunami flagUSGS sets this flag for large events in oceanic regions so tsunami warning centers review them. It does not by itself mean a tsunami occurred. Check tsunami.gov and local authorities for official messages.

Magnitude: 7.3; Major · mww
Depth: 38 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 192; Max intensity VII
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: Flag; Check tsunami.gov

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1.3 megatons of TNT

That is about 89 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,818 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

94 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

38 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
99577<br>0.208	II · Weak	18	995 km
99501<br>0.208	II · Weak	18	972 km
99628<br>0.236	III · Weak	13	493 km
99603<br>0.236	II · Weak	13	790 km
99661<br>0.242	VI · Strong	12	88 km
99516<br>0.269	II · Weak	8	967 km
99507<br>0.277	II · Weak	7	970 km
99615<br>0.277	II · Weak	7	555 km
99685<br>0.285	III · Weak	6	417 km
99587<br>0.285	II · Weak	6	983 km
99612<br>0.293	VI · Strong	5	134 km
99556<br>0.293	II · Weak	5	791 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level green: low likelihood of casualties and damage.

VI · Strong shaking: 1,000 people
V · Moderate shaking: 1,500 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

Sand PointPopulation 976VI · Strong

After the main event

Aftershocks within 200 km

USGS lists 933 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on July 20, 2025. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 408 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

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 · 195 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 22 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 133 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 168 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
2021M8.2
Alaska Peninsula
29 Jul 2021 · 188 km away · intensity VIII
tsunami
1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 59 km away
tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers