QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Seward, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Seward in the 24 hours to 7:25 pm AKST (04:25 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Seward, AK, at 9:11 pm AKDT on 13 July 2020 (05:11 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 34 km ESE of Primrose, Alaska

9:11 pm AKDT, Jul 13, 2020 · · 13 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Seward Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 109 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
9:11 pm AKDT on 13 July 2020 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Seward, AK · earthquakes near Seward
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 109 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2294 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Seward, 40 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 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 38 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 25 km WSW of Chenega, Alaska · 32 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 29 km NW of Chenega, Alaska · 20 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 33 km ESE of Bear Creek, Alaska · 14 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 43 km WSW of Chenega, Alaska · 40 km S 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 60.2298, -148.7735. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 109 km (68 mi) NNW 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. 1.6 22 km SSE of Whittier, Alaska
  2. 1.7 25 km NW of Chenega, Alaska
  3. 1.7 30 km WSW of Chenega, Alaska
  4. 1.8 26 km SSW of Whittier, Alaska
  5. 1.6 34 km SSE of Whittier, Alaska
  6. 1.9 16 km SSW of Whittier, Alaska
  7. 2.6 13 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska
  8. 1.8 20 km WNW of Chenega, Alaska
  9. 1.6 24 km WSW of Chenega, Alaska
  10. 2.0 26 km SE of Lowell Point, Alaska
  11. 2.6 31 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska
  12. 2.8 16 km S of Whittier, Alaska
  13. 1.6 12 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska
  14. 1.7 26 km W of Chenega, Alaska
  15. 2.3 23 km SSE of Whittier, 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.