QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Seward, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Seward in the 24 hours to 6:40 am AKST (15:40 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Seward, AK, at 11:02 pm AKST on 31 December 2019 (08:02 UTC), 33 km deep.

USGS: 5 km ENE of Cooper Landing, Alaska

79 km (49 mi) S of Anchorage, AK

11:02 pm AKST, Dec 31, 2019 · · 33 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Seward Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 77 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
11:02 pm AKST on 31 December 2019 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Seward, AK · earthquakes near Seward
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
33 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 77 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2499 days ago

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 Seward, 48 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 4.2 on 2016-02-15 — about 2,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 39 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 16 km WSW of Whittier, Alaska · 48 km ENE 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 60.5132, -149.7361. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 77 km (48 mi) NNE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 13 km NNW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  2. 2.1 22 km SW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  3. 1.6 25 km SW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  4. 1.9 17 km N of Moose Pass, Alaska
  5. 2.5 28 km NNW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  6. 1.9 36 km SSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  7. 2.5 2 km NW of Seward, Alaska
  8. 1.5 20 km WSW of Hope, Alaska
  9. 1.6 22 km WNW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  10. 1.6 11 km NNE of Sunrise, AK
  11. 1.6 20 km WNW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  12. 1.6 19 km NNW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  13. 1.5 12 km NW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  14. 1.9 11 km NE of Moose Pass, Alaska
  15. 1.5 20 km NNE of Cooper Landing, 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.