M 4.5 Earthquake 90 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 4.5 mb earthquake struck 90 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska, at a depth of 37.6 km on October 1, 2026.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on September 1, 2026 and geographically references Alaska. Its severity classification of "medium" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, Alaska.
What Happened
A M 4.5 mb earthquake occurred at 12:45:38 UTC on October 1, 2026 (Unix time 1788248738175), located 90 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska. The event had a depth of 37.559 km.
Location Details
The earthquake was centered at latitude 52.1624, longitude -169.2588. This places it in a remote area southwest of Nikolski on the Aleutian Islands chain. The depth of 37.6 km classifies it as an intermediate-depth event (20-70 km).
Impact Assessment
No felt reports were recorded. The Modified Mercalli Intensity was measured at 2.575. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami field = 0) and no alert level issued.
What You Should Know
This was classified as a light earthquake. Such events are often noticeable but typically cause little to no damage in remote regions. Residents should follow standard earthquake preparedness practices.
Source
Data from USGS: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000tdal
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
All Earthquakes →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.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (939 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (medium) notices issued closest in time to September 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.