Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
48 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska, at 7:02 am AKDT on 20 August 2026 (15:02 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Haines Borough, 47 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 50 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Haines, AK
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 27 km (17 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 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 5.3 on 2023-10-28 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 77 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska · 34 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 41 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska · 8 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 27 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska · 33 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 63 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska · 20 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.0 66 km NNW of Elfin Cove, Alaska · 33 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 59.0300, -136.3960. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haines Borough, AK | 47 km (30 mi) | E | earthquakes near Haines Borough |
| Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK | 76 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hoonah-Angoon Census Area |
| Skagway Municipality, AK | 84 km (52 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Skagway Municipality |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.2 40 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
- 2.2 38 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
- 2.0 35 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska
- 3.1 48 km SSW of Covenant Life, 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.