QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Kodiak, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Kodiak in the 24 hours to 5:56 pm AKST (02:56 UTC). The last one was M 5.5, 133 km (83 mi) NNW, at 10:34 am AKDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 342 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kodiak

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) south-southeast of Kodiak, AK, at 3:14 pm AKST on 3 January 2021 (00:14 UTC), 44 km deep.

USGS: 9 km SSE of Chiniak, Alaska

3:14 pm AKST, Jan 3, 2021 · · 44 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Kodiak Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kodiak Island Borough 102 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
3:14 pm AKST on 3 January 2021 ()
Where
31 km (19 mi) south-southeast of Kodiak, AK · earthquakes near Kodiak
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
44 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kodiak Island Borough, 102 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2072 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Kodiak, 31 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 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 4.1 on 2017-03-05 — about 63 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.8 55 km SE of Chiniak, Alaska · 47 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 39 km ESE of Chiniak, Alaska · 34 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 47 km ESE of Chiniak, Alaska · 42 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 45 km SSE of Chiniak, Alaska · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 13 km S of Chiniak, Alaska · 5 km SSW 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 57.5296, -152.2335. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kodiak Island Borough, AK 102 km (64 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kodiak Island Borough

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. 3.0 12 km S of Chiniak, Alaska
  2. 2.2 43 km E of Old Harbor, Alaska
  3. 2.3 18 km SSE of Womens Bay, Alaska
  4. 3.1 17 km S of Womens Bay, Alaska
  5. 2.2 Kodiak Island region, Alaska
  6. 2.1 13 km ESE of Chiniak, Alaska
  7. 1.5 16 km SSE of Womens Bay, Alaska
  8. 2.0 51 km S of Chiniak, Alaska
  9. 2.3 8 km SSE of Womens Bay, Alaska
  10. 1.5 4 km SSW of Kodiak Station, Alaska
  11. 1.5 10 km WNW of Kodiak Station, Alaska
  12. 2.0 38 km E of Old Harbor, Alaska
  13. 1.9 Kodiak Island region, Alaska
  14. 2.5 9 km SSW of Womens Bay, Alaska
  15. 1.6 23 km SSW of Womens Bay, 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.