Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 5.3mww
113 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska
Yes. A magnitude 5.3 earthquake was recorded 113 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska at 06:54 UTC on 2026-01-01, 5.0 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 5.3 (mww)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Yakutat City and Borough, 60 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 160 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 232 km (144 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 1.3 kilotons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5.6× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 5.3 about 1.3 kilotons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2,800× 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 5.7 on 2026-01-01 — about 4 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 90 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska · 28 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 126 km NW of Yakutat, Alaska · 46 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 100 km NW of Yakutat, Alaska · 42 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 115 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska · 34 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 115 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska · 37 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 60.5426, -140.1891. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakutat City and Borough, AK | 60 km (37 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Yakutat City and Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 111 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.1 111 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.0 109 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.1 111 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.0 110 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska
- 1.9 108 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.0 109 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.3 112 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.0 108 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska
- 1.9 110 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.3 110 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.2 112 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.1 104 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.3 111 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
- 2.9 108 km NNW of Yakutat, 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.