Shallow M5.3 Earthquake struck on Friday Evening 91mi from Juneau in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 28th, 2023. Last updated December 8th, 2023.

In the evening of Friday October 27th, 2023, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit under land 91 miles from Juneau in The United States. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Another country near the epicenter is Canada.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 91 miles (146 km) west-northwest of Juneau in Alaska. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 4 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 27, 2023 07:44PM (Juneau Time) - Oct 28, 2023 03:44 Universal Time.
Location:	91 mi WNW of Juneau, Alaska, The United States. Coordinates 59°0'12"N 136°33'0"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.3 Detected by 13 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.036 .
Depth:	4 mi (6 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck on land near a coastal area (2 mi from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 4 mi (6 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Nearby towns and cities

2 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: The United States and Canada .

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Juneau in Alaska, The United States. Juneau is located 91 miles (146 km) west-northwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Juneau is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
91 mi (146 km) ESE from epicenter	Juneau Alaska, The United States.	III Weak
208 km (129 mi) NNE from epicenter	Whitehorse Yukon, Canada.	III Weak

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is VII. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 28 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 28 people have reported shaking in 2 places in Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada: 27 people.
Fraser Lake, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.

7 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 7 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 1 hr after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.5 was detected 3 mi (5 km) east-southeast of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 1 smaller foreshock occurred. A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit 42 mins earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 5.1	42 mins earlier Oct 27, 2023 07:01PM (Juneau Time)	3 mi (5 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.3	Oct 27, 2023 07:44PM (Juneau Time)	-
Aftershock	M 2.6	28 mins later Oct 27, 2023 08:11PM (Juneau Time)	2.7 mi (4 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.5	1 hr later Oct 27, 2023 09:11PM (Juneau Time)	3 mi (5 km) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	2 hrs later Oct 27, 2023 10:00PM (Juneau Time)	3 mi (5 km) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	3 hrs later Oct 27, 2023 10:25PM (Juneau Time)	4 mi (6 km) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	17 hrs later Oct 28, 2023 12:33PM (Juneau Time)	3 mi (5 km) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.9	17 hrs later Oct 28, 2023 12:33PM (Juneau Time)	4 mi (7 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.1	22 hrs later Oct 28, 2023 05:18PM (Juneau Time)	2.2 mi (4 km) ENE from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 4 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since September 10th, 2019, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 175 mi (282 km) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck on May 1st, 2017.

In total, 7 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every year.

Sources

Last updated 08/12/23 03:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.