Strong M6.5 earthquake hits Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.5 hit the Fox Islands region of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska at 14:19 UTC (06:19 LT) on September 17, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 114.8 km (71.3 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.5 at a depth of 106 km (65.9 miles). According to the NWS National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC), a tsunami is not expected.
Epicenter of M6.5 earthquake in Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska on September 17, 2026. Credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located 162 km (101 miles) WSW of Nikolski (population 18), 1 494 km (929 miles) SSE of Anadyr (population 15 604), 1 595 km (991 miles) SW of Anchorage (population 291 247), 1 616 km (1 004 miles) SW of Eagle River (population 24 793), and 1 624 km (1 009 miles) SW of Knik-Fairview (population 14 923), Alaska region.
A tsunami is not expected from this earthquake, according to the NWS National Tsunami Warning Center.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage. There are likely to be no affected structures in this region.
According to USGS, there is a 43% chance of one or more aftershocks that are larger than magnitude 5, which can be damaging, within the next week. There will likely be smaller aftershocks within the next week, with up to 680 magnitude 3 or higher aftershocks. Magnitude 3 and higher aftershocks are large enough to be felt nearby.
At the time of this forecast, there have been 0 magnitude 3 or higher aftershocks, which are strong enough to be felt nearby, and 0 magnitude 5 or higher aftershocks, which are large enough to do damage.
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.5 earthquake 163 km WSW of Nikolski, Alaska – USGS – September 17, 2026
2 M6.5 earthquake Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands – EMSC – September 17, 2026
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