QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 5.1mww

93 km S of King Cove, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 5.1 earthquake was recorded 93 km S of King Cove, Alaska, at 12:14 pm AKDT on 12 April 2026 (20:14 UTC), 35 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 35 km deep · released about 670 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aleutians East Borough 116 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
Magnitude
M 5.1 (mww)
Depth
35 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Aleutians East Borough, 116 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 55 days ago

This was a moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 203 km (126 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 670 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 5.1 about 670 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1,400× 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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. The previous largest was M 5.0 on 2024-12-09.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 27 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 47 km SE of False Pass, Alaska · 50 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 88 km SE of False Pass, Alaska · 15 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 112 km SE of False Pass, Alaska · 20 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 60 km SSW of King Cove, Alaska · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 88 km SE of False Pass, Alaska · 14 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 54.2236, -162.3765. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aleutians East Borough, AK 116 km (72 mi) NNE earthquakes near Aleutians East Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 106 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  2. 3.2 91 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  3. 2.1 63 km S of King Cove, Alaska
  4. 2.1 52 km S of King Cove, Alaska
  5. 2.6 99 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  6. 2.5 98 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  7. 3.7 99 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  8. 2.6 100 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  9. 2.7 98 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  10. 2.7 103 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  11. 3.3 106 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  12. 5.4 93 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  13. 4.3 93 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  14. 2.8 106 km SE of False Pass, Alaska
  15. 3.2 88 km SE of False Pass, 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

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