Yakutat, Alaska – Two moderate earthquakes rattled a remote area north of Yakutat on Tuesday evening, delivering brief shaking across portions of Southeast Alaska but causing no reported damage. The stronger of the pair, a magnitude 3.8, struck at 8:22 p.m. local time, followed less than an hour later by a magnitude 3.4 at 7:39 p.m. Both quakes originated roughly 100 kilometers north of the coastal community.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, each event occurred at a depth of about 5 kilometers, a shallow range that can make even moderate shaking more noticeable. The agency assigned an estimated intensity of level IV shaking, though no residents had submitted felt reports as of Tuesday night.
The quakes were centered in a sparsely populated section of the Fairweather Fault system, one of Alaska’s most active tectonic zones. While Yakutat and nearby remote lodges sit well south of the epicenters, emergency managers often advise residents in the region to stay mindful of aftershocks, secure loose household items, and review readiness plans during periods of elevated seismic activity.
USGS officials said additional small quakes are possible overnight, noting that the agency will continue to monitor the sequence and update its databases as more information arrives.
