Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Fairbanks, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Fairbanks in the 24 hours to 6:17 am AKST (15:17 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 250 km (155 mi) WSW, at 3:07 am AKDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 107 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fairbanks
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) east-northeast of Fairbanks, AK, at 8:54 am AKST on 22 January 2026 (17:54 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 10 km SE of Fox, Alaska
- When
- 8:54 am AKST on 22 January 2026 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) east-northeast of Fairbanks, AK · earthquakes near Fairbanks
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, 52 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 87 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fairbanks, AK
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This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Fairbanks, 13 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Badger, Farmers Loop, College, North Pole, Ester.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 4.0 on 2022-11-17 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.1 Central Alaska · 43 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 26 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 8 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 22 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 6 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 17 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 64.8920, -147.4660. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 52 km (32 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 3 km ESE of Badger, Alaska
- 2.4 7 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- 1.6 9 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.5 6 km ESE of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
- 1.5 5 km WNW of Farmers Loop, Alaska
- 1.6 18 km NW of Fox, Alaska
- 3.1 6 km ENE of Badger, Alaska
- 1.7 2 km SE of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.9 8 km S of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
- 1.8 4 km SW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.5 10 km E of Fox, Alaska
- 1.5 7 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- 1.5 37 km NNE of Fox, Alaska
- 1.5 12 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- 2.5 11 km W of Salcha, 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
- 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.