QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Seward, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Seward in the 24 hours to 5:35 am AKST (14:35 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 83 km (52 mi) W, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seward

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) north-northeast of Seward, AK, at 5:25 pm AKDT on 25 May 2019 (01:25 UTC), 21 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 13 km E of Moose Pass, Alaska

92 km (57 mi) SSE of Anchorage, AK

5:25 pm AKDT, May 25, 2019 · · 21 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Seward Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 78 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
5:25 pm AKDT on 25 May 2019 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) north-northeast of Seward, AK · earthquakes near Seward
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 78 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2649 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Seward, 45 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2016-10-02 — about 89 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 41 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 29 km NW of Chenega, Alaska · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 33 km ESE of Bear Creek, Alaska · 45 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 38 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 31 km NNE of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 60.4796, -149.1256. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 78 km (48 mi) N earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.6 13 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska
  2. 2.8 16 km S of Whittier, Alaska
  3. 1.6 9 km NW of Moose Pass, Alaska
  4. 1.7 13 km NW of Bear Creek, Alaska
  5. 1.9 15 km NW of Moose Pass, Alaska
  6. 3.5 10 km NE of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  7. 1.9 17 km N of Moose Pass, Alaska
  8. 1.5 17 km SW of Whittier, Alaska
  9. 2.5 2 km NW of Seward, Alaska
  10. 1.5 17 km SE of Primrose, Alaska
  11. 2.2 12 km SSE of Girdwood, Alaska
  12. 1.6 11 km NNE of Sunrise, AK
  13. 1.5 22 km NE of Moose Pass, Alaska
  14. 1.5 14 km E of Lowell Point, Alaska
  15. 1.9 11 km NE of Moose Pass, Alaska

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.