QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 2.5ml

26 km SE of Whittier, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 26 km SE of Whittier, Alaska, at 4:18 am AKDT on 25 May 2021 (12:18 UTC), 20 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

· 20 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 81 kmChugach Census Area 116 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
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 81 km NW
Status
Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1931 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. 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 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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. 6.4 22 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska · 25 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 27 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska · 29 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 21 km N of Whittier, Alaska · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NW of Chenega, Alaska · 43 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 40 km WNW 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 60.6300, -148.3002. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 81 km (50 mi) NW earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Chugach Census Area, AK 116 km (72 mi) E earthquakes near Chugach Census Area

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. 1.5 40 km NNE of Chenega, Alaska
  2. 1.5 35 km NNE of Chenega, Alaska
  3. 1.8 22 km N of Chenega, Alaska
  4. 2.0 37 km NNE of Chenega, Alaska
  5. 1.7 39 km SE of Whittier, Alaska
  6. 1.7 35 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  7. 1.8 36 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  8. 1.7 25 km SSE of Whittier, Alaska
  9. 1.6 Southern Alaska
  10. 1.7 47 km ESE of Whittier, Alaska
  11. 1.7 42 km N of Chenega, Alaska
  12. 1.5 41 km NNE of Chenega, Alaska
  13. 1.6 19 km SSW of Whittier, Alaska
  14. 2.8 43 km SE of Whittier, Alaska
  15. 1.5 37 km NNW of Chenega, 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.