QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5ml

Earthquake near Anchorage, AK

Yes. A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) south-southwest of Anchorage, AK, at 4:48 pm AKDT on 27 October 2026 (00:48 UTC), 43 km deep. 91 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 27 km E of Point Possession, Alaska

39 km (24 mi) SSW of Anchorage, AK

4:48 pm AKDT, Oct 27, 2026 · · 43 km deep · released about 2.7 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 58 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
4:48 pm AKDT on 27 October 2026 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) south-southwest of Anchorage, AK · earthquakes near Anchorage
Magnitude
M 3.5 (ml)
Depth
43 km below the surface
Felt
91 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 58 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1 hour 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Anchorage, 39 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: Anchorage 39 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.7 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.6× 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 5.8 on 2018-11-30 — about 2,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 30 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 47 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 20 km ENE of Beluga, Alaska · 49 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 13 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 19 km NE of Nikiski, Alaska · 46 km WSW 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 60.8980, -150.1880. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 58 km (36 mi) ENE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 131 km (81 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

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. 1.9 24 km E of Point Possession, 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
felt reports9091
felt reports8990
felt reports8889
felt reports8688
felt reports8586
measured intensity2.752.86
felt reports8385
felt reports8283
review statusautomaticreviewed
latitude60.8960.9
depth47.243
felt reports7782

On USGS

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