quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Fairbanks, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Fairbanks in the 24 hours to 11:17 am AKST (20:17 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
No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 quarry blast was recorded 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Fairbanks, AK, at 3:47 pm AKDT on 27 May 2026 (23:47 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 7 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- When
- 3:47 pm AKDT on 27 May 2026 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Fairbanks, AK · earthquakes near Fairbanks
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, 58 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 170 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairbanks, 20 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: Farmers Loop, Badger, College, North Pole, Ester.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 35 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 12 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 32 km S of this epicentre
- 5.3 6 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 16 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km NNW of Badger, Alaska · 17 km SSW 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 64.9860, -147.4770. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 58 km (36 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.4 10 km E of Fox, Alaska
- 1.4 10 km WSW of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
- 1.7 14 km E of Fox, Alaska
- 1.4 3 km N of Fox, Alaska
- 1.0 6 km SSE of Badger, Alaska
- 0.8 18 km NNW of Fox, Alaska
- 1.2 12 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- 1.5 12 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- 1.4 11 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- 1.0 5 km NNW of Badger, Alaska
- 1.9 17 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.9 16 km SSW of Badger, Alaska
- 1.4 10 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
- 1.5 11 km E of Fox, Alaska
- 1.5 23 km SSW of Badger, 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.