QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5ml

Earthquake near Seward, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Seward in the 24 hours to 7:15 am AKST (16:15 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 3.5 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) west of Seward, AK, at 4:22 am AKST on 7 January 2026 (13:22 UTC), 27 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 36 km W of Lowell Point, Alaska

4:22 am AKST, Jan 7, 2026 · · 27 km deep · released about 2.7 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
4:22 am AKST on 7 January 2026 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) west of Seward, AK · earthquakes near Seward
Magnitude
M 3.5 (ml)
Depth
27 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 53 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 58 km (36 mi) from the epicentre. In Seward, 37 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.

Likely felt in: Seward 37 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.7 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.6× 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 since 2016 was M 5.4 on 2025-10-30 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 31 km S of Funny River, Alaska · 37 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 13 km N of Fox River, Alaska · 49 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 12 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska · 47 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 11 km SSE of Lowell Point, Alaska · 42 km E 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 60.0410, -150.1010. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 30 km NE of Fox River, Alaska
  2. 2.7 44 km NE of Fox River, Alaska
  3. 1.9 23 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  4. 2.4 18 km SW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  5. 1.9 22 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  6. 1.5 35 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  7. 2.0 34 km NE of Fox River, Alaska
  8. 1.9 21 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  9. 1.9 39 km NE of Fox River, Alaska
  10. 2.4 26 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  11. 1.5 23 km S of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  12. 2.4 46 km NE of Fox River, Alaska
  13. 1.6 37 km SW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  14. 1.9 33 km W of Seward, Alaska
  15. 2.0 21 km ENE of Fox River, 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.