M 3.6 Earthquake 23 km NNE of Valdez, Alaska

Source: USGS · Alaska

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded by USGS near 23 km NNE of Valdez. On the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program scale, M3.6 is classified "Minor". Among the 1,712 earthquake reports Areazine has published, this M3.6 event ranks stronger than 36% of them (rank #1,042 by magnitude).

30 seconds on this earthquake report

Magnitude
M 3.6
USGS class
Minor
Location
23 km NNE of Valdez
Archive rank
#1,042 of 1,712
Source
USGS
Published
September 12, 2026
MINOR

Stronger than 36% of the 1,712 earthquake reports in Areazine's archive, weaker than 1,041 others.

Record status: a snapshot from USGS, not a final record. Check USGS's own event page for aftershocks and any later revision to the magnitude shown here.

What Happened

A M 3.6 ml earthquake occurred at 23 km NNE of Valdez, Alaska. The event took place at 1789240685991 (UTC) with a depth of 13.8 km.

Location Details

The earthquake was located at coordinates 61.311 latitude, -146.129 longitude. The depth of 13.8 km is classified as shallow (less than 20 km).

Impact Assessment

No felt reports, tsunami advisory, or alert level information is available in the source data. The tsunami flag is recorded as 0.

What You Should Know

This was a minor earthquake. Such events are often felt but rarely cause damage.

Source

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/aka2026scqemw (USGS)

Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗

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Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8

Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.

Frequently Asked Questions

What people usually ask about a notice like this one.

What was the magnitude of this event?
A magnitude 3.6 ml earthquake struck 23 km NNE of Valdez, Alaska at a depth of 13.8 km.
How should a magnitude 3.6 ("Minor") event be understood?
The USGS classifies M3.6 as "Minor" on its Earthquake Hazards Program scale. Events in this range are often felt near the epicenter and can cause minor damage to vulnerable structures, though widespread damage is uncommon.
Is this earthquake stronger or weaker than others in the archive?
This is the #1,042 strongest of the 1,712 earthquake reports in Areazine's archive by magnitude, stronger than 36% of them and weaker than 1,041 others.
Was Valdez likely to feel this earthquake?
This event was centered 23 km NNE of Valdez. Shaking intensity falls off sharply with distance from the epicenter and depends on depth and local geology, so check the USGS "Did You Feel It?" report for this event for real felt-shaking data rather than assuming from magnitude and distance alone.