Shallow M4.3 Earthquake hit near Anchorage in The United States on Tuesday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on February 5th, 2025. Last updated February 11th, 2025.

Under land 29 miles from Anchorage in The United States, a shallow MAG-4.3 earthquake occurred in the evening of Tuesday February 4th, 2025. 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°21'38"N 150°42'40"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.3 Detected by 42 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.092 .
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 (4 mi from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.3. 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

This earthquake may have been felt by around 450 thousand people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 240 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 400 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
15,130	I	Not noticable	None
57,940	II	Very weak	None
396,400	III	Weak	Probably none
240	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 . Anchorage in Alaska, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 29 miles (46 km) west-northwest of Anchorage. The intensity of shaking and damage in Anchorage 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)
29 mi (46 km) ESE from epicenter	Anchorage Alaska, The United States.	III Weak
38 mi (61 km) E from epicenter	Eagle River Alaska, The United States.	III Weak

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured 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.

3 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 3 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 3.4 magnitude earthquake hit 1 day later 52 mi (84 km) south 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 2.6

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 2.6	1 hr earlier Feb 4, 2025 09:52PM (Anchorage Time)	47 mi (76 km) SE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.3	Feb 4, 2025 11:07PM (Anchorage Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.0	16 hrs later Feb 5, 2025 03:18PM (Anchorage Time)	27 mi (44 km) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.4	1 day later Feb 6, 2025 10:56AM (Anchorage Time)	52 mi (84 km) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	2 days later Feb 6, 2025 02:13PM (Anchorage Time)	20 mi (32 km) NNW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

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 87 mi (140 km) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 30th, 2018.

In total, 178 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.3 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 21 days.

Sources

Last updated 11/02/25 00:28 (). 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.