On Tuesday Evening a Shallow M4.1 Earthquake struck near Anchorage in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on February 5th, 2025. Last updated March 14th, 2025.

In the evening of Tuesday February 4th, 2025, a shallow M4.1 earthquake hit under land 29 miles from Anchorage in The United States. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 29 miles (46 km) west-northwest of Anchorage in Alaska. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 3 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Feb 4, 2025 11:07PM (Anchorage Time) - Feb 5, 2025 08:07 Universal Time.
Location:	29 mi WNW of Anchorage, Alaska, The United States. Coordinates 61°20'27"N 150°43'21"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.1 Detected by 42 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.032 .
Depth:	3 mi (5 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI 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 (3 mi from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 3 mi (5 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 450 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 450 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 0 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 380 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
20,850	I	Not noticable	None
66,100	II	Very weak	None
382,500	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Anchorage in Alaska, The United States. Anchorage is located 29 miles (46 km) west-northwest of the epicenter. Anchorage experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
29 mi (46 km) ESE from epicenter	Anchorage Alaska, The United States.	III Weak
39 mi (62 km) E from epicenter	Eagle River Alaska, The United States.	III Weak

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is V.

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.

4 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 4 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.4 was detected 52 mi (83 km) south-southeast of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 1 hr earlier. It measured a magnitude of 2.5

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 2.5	1 hr earlier Feb 4, 2025 09:52PM (Anchorage Time)	47 mi (76 km) SE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.1	Feb 4, 2025 11:07PM (Anchorage Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.2	16 hrs later Feb 5, 2025 03:18PM (Anchorage Time)	25 mi (40 km) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	16 hrs later Feb 5, 2025 03:18PM (Anchorage Time)	26 mi (42 km) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.4	1 day later Feb 6, 2025 10:56AM (Anchorage Time)	52 mi (83 km) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	2 days later Feb 6, 2025 02:13PM (Anchorage Time)	22 mi (36 km) NNW 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).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since December 20th, 2024, when a 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit 86 mi (138 km) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 30th, 2018.

In total, 218 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.1 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 17 days.

Sources

Last updated 14/03/25 03:18 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.