On Saturday Morning an M4.9 Earthquake struck near Anchorage in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 22nd, 2025. Last updated December 14th, 2025.

A M4.9 earthquake struck under land 45 miles from Anchorage in The United States in the early morning of Saturday November 22nd, 2025. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 470 thousand people.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 45 miles (72 km) west of Anchorage in Alaska. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 38 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 22, 2025 06:38AM (Anchorage Time) - Nov 22, 2025 15:38 Universal Time.
Location:	45 mi west of Anchorage, Alaska, The United States. Coordinates 61°11'41"N 151°14'31"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.9 Detected by 70 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.037 .
Depth:	38 mi (62 km) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (7 mi from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

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 470 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 470 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.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 330 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. 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
260	I	Not noticable	None
70,480	II	Very weak	None
399,700	III	Weak	Probably none
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 Anchorage in Alaska, The United States. Anchorage is located 45 miles (72 km) west of the epicenter. 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)
45 mi (72 km) E from epicenter	Anchorage Alaska, The United States.	III Weak
57 mi (91 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 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.

6 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 6 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 2.5 mi (4 km) west of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 3.3

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-2.8 was detected nearby this earthquake.

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 2.8	2 days earlier Nov 20, 2025 02:37PM (Anchorage Time)	56 mi (91 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.9	Nov 22, 2025 06:38AM (Anchorage Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.1	17 hrs later Nov 22, 2025 11:52PM (Anchorage Time)	54 mi (87 km) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.3	2 days later Nov 23, 2025 07:14PM (Anchorage Time)	2.5 mi (4 km) W from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.1	2 days later Nov 23, 2025 09:01PM (Anchorage Time)	49 mi (79 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	2 days later Nov 24, 2025 05:14AM (Anchorage Time)	50 mi (80 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	3 days later Nov 24, 2025 10:44PM (Anchorage Time)	35 mi (57 km) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.6	3 days later Nov 25, 2025 04:49AM (Anchorage Time)	40 mi (65 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.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major 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 October 30th, 2025, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 113 mi (182 km) further south-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 30th, 2018.

In total, 42 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.9 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 3 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

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.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

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 (7 mi from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.9. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 38 mi (62 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 14/12/25 01:58 (). 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.