QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.6mwr

68 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 4.6 earthquake was recorded 68 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska at 08:20 UTC on 2024-07-31, 8.3 km deep. 28 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 8.3 km deep · released about 120 tons of TNT

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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 4.6 (mwr)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
28 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Tsunami
USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
Nearest
Yakutat City and Borough, 133 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 764 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 149 km (93 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 120 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 1,400× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.6 about 120 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 250× more

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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 43 km ESE of Yakutat, Alaska · 39 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 57 km SE of Yakutat, Alaska · 15 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 105 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska · 41 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 59.0144, -139.1206. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yakutat City and Borough, AK 133 km (83 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yakutat City and Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 69 km SE of Yakutat, Alaska
  2. 3.1 69 km SE of Yakutat, Alaska
  3. 3.2 74 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska
  4. 2.1 43 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska
  5. 2.2 45 km SE of Yakutat, Alaska
  6. 2.5 73 km ESE of Yakutat, Alaska
  7. 2.0 63 km ESE of Yakutat, Alaska
  8. 2.3 109 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska
  9. 2.2 63 km SE of Yakutat, Alaska
  10. 2.5 59 km ESE of Yakutat, Alaska
  11. 2.9 95 km SE of Yakutat, Alaska
  12. 2.2 39 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska
  13. 1.8 50 km SE of Yakutat, Alaska
  14. 2.1 19 km SSE of Yakutat, Alaska
  15. 3.8 98 km SSE of Yakutat, 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.