QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Fishhook, AK

Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) northeast of Fishhook, AK, at 3:04 am AKDT on 16 October 2026 (11:04 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 24 km N of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska

3:04 am AKDT, Oct 16, 2026 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Matanuska-Susitna Borough 46 kmAnchorage Municipality 95 km
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
3:04 am AKDT on 16 October 2026 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) northeast of Fishhook, AK · earthquakes near Fishhook
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 46 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Castle Mountain fault, 21 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 6 hours 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Fishhook, 36 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.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. 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 4.4 on 2025-07-12 — about 250 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 23 km NE of Willow, Alaska · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 37 km ENE of Susitna North, Alaska · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 14 km NNE of Fishhook, Alaska · 21 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 55 km NNE of Chickaloon, Alaska · 47 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SSE of Susitna North, Alaska · 45 km W 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 62.0000, -148.8280. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK 46 km (29 mi) NW earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Anchorage Municipality, AK 95 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.1 34 km NNW of Chickaloon, 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.

Revisions

USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.

What changedFromToWhen
reported intensitynot reported1
felt reportsnot reported1
longitude-148.81-148.83
magnitude2.72.8
location25 km N of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska24 km N of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska
longitude-148.8-148.81
latitude62.0162
magnitude2.82.7

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.