Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Homer, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Homer in the 24 hours to 8:32 am AKST (17:32 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 71 km (44 mi) NNE, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Homer
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Homer, AK, at 2:56 am AKST on 31 December 2019 (11:56 UTC), 56 km deep.
USGS: 5 km SSW of Homer, Alaska
- When
- 2:56 am AKST on 31 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 6 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Homer, AK · earthquakes near Homer
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 56 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kenai Peninsula Borough, 95 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2501 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Homer, AK
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Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Homer, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Diamond Ridge, Fritz Creek, Anchor Point.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 4.3 on 2018-03-13 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 25 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska · 40 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km SSE of Fox River, Alaska · 43 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 30 km ESE of Port Graham, Alaska · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7 km SE of Fritz Creek, Alaska · 23 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6 km WNW of Nanwalek, Alaska · 35 km SW 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 59.5976, -151.5933. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 95 km (59 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 1.6 8 km NE of Nikolaevsk, Alaska
- 1.5 5 km ESE of Anchor Point, Alaska
- 1.9 2 km NE of Port Graham, Alaska
- 1.5 16 km E of Happy Valley, Alaska
- 2.3 4 km WNW of Nanwalek, Alaska
- 1.9 14 km SE of Seldovia, Alaska
- 1.6 12 km SE of Ninilchik, Alaska
- 1.5 13 km SE of Seldovia, Alaska
- 1.7 9 km ESE of Happy Valley, Alaska
- 2.3 7 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
- 2.1 7 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska
- 1.5 18 km SE of Port Graham, Alaska
- 1.8 19 km NNW of Nanwalek, Alaska
- 2.0 4 km N of Nikolaevsk, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.