The earthquake occurred approximately 50 miles south of Sand Point on the Alaska Peninsula.
A map from the U.S. Geological Survey indicates that the quake took place in the Gulf of Alaska, just south of a sparsely populated or uninhabited area of the Alaska Peninsula, roughly 50 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska. USGS
On Wednesday afternoon, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of Alaska, leading federal officials to issue a tsunami warning.
According to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) map, the quake hit in the Gulf of Alaska, just south of a sparsely populated section of the Alaska Peninsula, approximately 54 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska.
Sand Point is located on Popof Island, just off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula, which is sometimes referred to as the Aleutian Peninsula. This region is situated about 600 miles south-southwest of Anchorage, the largest city in the state.
Following the earthquake, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning. The areas affected by the warning include much of the Alaska Peninsula, parts of the Aleutian Islands, and other regions surrounding the Gulf of Alaska.
Specifically, the Tsunami Center stated that the warning was in effect from approximately 40 miles southwest of Homer to Unimak Pass, covering a distance of about 700 miles. Among the larger communities in this area is Kodiak, which has a population of 5,200.
The Homer Police Department posted on its Facebook page advising residents from the Kennedy Entrance, the waterway between Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula, to Unimak Pass to seek higher ground.
Officials in Anchorage issued an alert via their social media page, indicating that there was no immediate threat to the city from the earthquake or tsunami.
In Unalaska, a fishing community with a population of about 4,100, officials also recommended that residents move at least 50 feet above sea level and 1 mile inland. In King Cove, which has around 870 residents on the southern side of the Alaska Peninsula, officials sent out an alert urging those in coastal areas to relocate to higher ground.
The Emergency Management Division of Washington state announced on X that it is still assessing the implications of the tsunami warning for the coastlines of Washington state and that it is in communication with the National Tsunami Warning Center.
As per the report from the USGS, the earthquake occurred at approximately 12:37 p.m. local time and had a depth of about 12 miles. Reports indicate that individuals felt the earthquake around the Alaska Peninsula, according to USGS data.
The earthquake was initially reported as having a magnitude of 7.2, but the USGS later revised it to 7.3.
According to the website of Michigan Technological University, earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 7.0 to 7.9 are classified as “major earthquakes.” The university states that approximately 10 to 15 such earthquakes are recorded annually.
A “great earthquake,” which is a rarer occurrence, is defined as having a magnitude of 8.0 or higher, and on average, one such earthquake occurs every one to two years.
The entire Pacific Coast of North America, which includes Alaska and the West Coast of the contiguous United States, is situated on the “Ring of Fire,” a tectonic zone that encompasses most of the Pacific Ocean. This area contains the majority of the world’s volcanoes and accounts for 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes, according to the USGS.
In Alaska, there has been a history of significant earthquakes over the years. For instance, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred near Anchorage in November 2018, resulting in over 100 injuries and causing damages amounting to tens of millions of dollars.
Significantly, a quake with a magnitude of 9.2-9.3 struck near Anchorage in 1964, resulting in the deaths of approximately 130 individuals. This earthquake is recognized as the second-most powerful earthquake ever recorded globally and the strongest in the history of North America.
In December 2024, a sequence of moderate to strong earthquakes impacted the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska and surrounding offshore regions, which scientists refer to as a swarm. On December 8, nine earthquakes with a magnitude of at least 5.0 occurred on or near the islands, as well as in a cluster offshore to the south, as reported by the Alaska Earthquake Center at that time.