M4.5 Earthquake struck on Tuesday Afternoon near Anchorage in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 23rd, 2025. Last updated May 20th, 2025.

In the late afternoon of Tuesday April 22nd, 2025, a MAG-4.5 earthquake hit under land 40 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, 40 miles (65 km) north of Anchorage in Alaska. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 25 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 22, 2025 04:24PM (Anchorage Time) - Apr 23, 2025 00:24 Universal Time.
Location:	40 mi north of Anchorage, Alaska, The United States. Coordinates 61°47'49"N 150°6'36"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.5 Detected by 43 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.029 .
Depth:	25 mi (41 km) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light 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	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 25 mi (41 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 460 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 460 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 1,330 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 410 thousand) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
5,460	I	Not noticable	None
55,900	II	Very weak	None
407,400	III	Weak	Probably none
1,330	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 Eagle River in Alaska, The United States. Eagle River is located 37 miles (60 km) north-northwest of the epicenter. Eagle River 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)
37 mi (60 km) SSE from epicenter	Eagle River Alaska, The United States.	III Weak
40 mi (65 km) S from epicenter	Anchorage 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 IV.

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.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. At a distance of 1.7 mi (2.8 km) north-east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 17 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 2.5

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 1 day earlier. It measured a magnitude of 2.9

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 2.9	1 day earlier Apr 21, 2025 07:18AM (Anchorage Time)	45 mi (73 km) NW from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.5	Apr 22, 2025 04:24PM (Anchorage Time)	-
Aftershock	M 2.5	17 hrs later Apr 23, 2025 08:58AM (Anchorage Time)	1.7 mi (2.8 km) NE 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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 April 19th, 2025, when a 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit 63 mi (102 km) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 30th, 2018.

In total, 111 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.5 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 month.

Sources

Last updated 20/05/25 01:48 (). 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.