Earthquake near Valdez, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Valdez in the 24 hours to 6:59 am AKST (15:59 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 85 km (53 mi) NNW, at 11:11 am AKDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 54 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Valdez

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 44 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Valdez, AK, at 4:58 am AKDT on 15 October 2022 (12:58 UTC), 7.2 km deep.

USGS: 13 km SSE of Tatitlek, Alaska

4:58 am AKDT, Oct 15, 2022 · 2022-10-15 12:58 UTC · 7.2 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Valdez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 4:58 am AKDT on 15 October 2022 (2022-10-15 12:58 UTC)
Where: 44 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Valdez, AK · earthquakes near Valdez
Magnitude: M 2.9 (ml)
Depth: 7.2 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Chugach Census Area, 36 km SE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 1413 days ago · we first saw it 1413 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Valdez, 44 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.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
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 4.4 on 2022-07-09 — about 180 times the energy of this one.

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

9.2 The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska Earthquake · 44 km WNW of this epicentre Mar 28, 1964
6.7 Prince William Sound, Alaska · 26 km WSW of this epicentre Jan 31, 1912
6.6 37 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 48 km NW of this epicentre Jul 12, 1983
6.4 Prince William Sound, Alaska · 49 km SW of this epicentre Feb 15, 1916
6.3 56 km WSW of Cordova, Alaska · 46 km S of this epicentre Mar 28, 1964

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Chugach Census Area, AK	36 km (23 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Chugach Census Area

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.6 Southern Alaska 21:50 UTC
1.9 22 km S of Tatitlek, Alaska 05:02 UTC
1.9 38 km SSW of Tatitlek, Alaska 20:32 UTC
1.6 21 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska 18:51 UTC
2.6 8 km SSE of Valdez, Alaska 10:11 UTC
2.1 19 km S of Tatitlek, Alaska 03:40 UTC
1.7 54 km S of Tatitlek, Alaska 14:20 UTC
1.6 28 km W of Valdez, Alaska 09:28 UTC
1.5 18 km NW of Tatitlek, Alaska 13:59 UTC
2.1 15 km NNE of Tatitlek, Alaska 06:52 UTC
2.0 10 km SE of Tatitlek, Alaska 18:24 UTC
1.5 15 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska 03:53 UTC
2.8 36 km SSW of Tatitlek, Alaska 00:55 UTC
1.6 9 km S of Tatitlek, Alaska 17:27 UTC
2.0 15 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska 08:45 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 15:59 UTC. 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.