EARTHQUAKEM4.5

M4.5 earthquake near Akutan, Alaska

Map: the earthquake near Akutan, Alaska, with plate boundaries

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 50 mi (81 km) south-southeast of Akutan, Alaska on Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 08:33 UTC, at a depth of 22 mi (35 km), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Shallow quakes like this one shake the surface hardest.

3 people reported feeling it to USGS “Did You Feel It?”.

MagnitudeM4.5
Depth22 mi (35 km)
Time (UTC)Oct 24 08:33
Location53.52°N 165.10°W
Nearest townAkutan · 81 km
Energy85 tons TNT
Aftershocks M2.5+1
Tsunami flagNo
Felt reports3
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Why here?

This earthquake struck about 64 mi (103 km) from the boundary between the North American and Pacific plates. Most earthquakes happen along plate boundaries like this one, where the pieces of Earth’s outer shell collide, pull apart or grind past each other. Stress builds up over years until the rock suddenly slips.

The red lines on the map are plate boundaries.

How strong was it?

Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step releases about 32 times more energy. This magnitude 4.5 released roughly the energy of 85 tons of TNT. That is about 5.6 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, a quake people nearby feel but that rarely causes damage. The strongest earthquake ever recorded, magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960, released about 32,000,000 times more than this one.

Aftershocks

In the first 2 days after it, USGS recorded 1 smaller earthquake of magnitude 2.5 or more within 62 mi (100 km). It was a magnitude 4.3 on October 25 at 07:45 UTC.

A stronger magnitude 4.6 followed on October 26 at 11:38 UTC, about 1 mi (2 km) away, so this one is now considered a foreshock.

Earthquake history here

Before this earthquake, USGS had recorded 134 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger within 300 km (186 mi) since 1900. The strongest:

Official details, updates and the shaking map: USGS event page.

See every earthquake on October 24, 2026 or earthquakes by day.

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