Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Fairbanks, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Fairbanks in the 24 hours to 1:44 pm AKST (22:44 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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) southwest of Fairbanks, AK, at 1:37 am AKDT on 8 September 2026 (09:37 UTC), 6.6 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 27 km E of Nenana, Alaska
- When
- 1:37 am AKDT on 8 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) southwest of Fairbanks, AK · earthquakes near Fairbanks
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, 97 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 65 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fairbanks, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Fairbanks, AK. No account or email needed.
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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairbanks, 47 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: Ester 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 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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 4.4 on 2022-12-07 — about 89 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 45 km ENE 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 64.5990, -148.5250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 97 km (60 mi) | E | earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough |
| Denali Borough, AK | 125 km (78 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Denali Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
34 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.6 28 km SSW of Ester, Alaska
- 1.3 13 km W of Ester, Alaska
- 1.7 6 km SSW of Ester, Alaska
- 1.2 21 km E of Anderson, Alaska
- 1.4 27 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.5 48 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.8 37 km E of Clear, Alaska
- 1.4 37 km E of Clear, Alaska
- 1.5 37 km E of Clear, Alaska
- 1.4 33 km NE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.6 21 km NE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.4 31 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
- 1.1 47 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.4 44 km E of Clear, Alaska
- 1.0 21 km NNE of Four Mile Road, 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.