M5.3 earthquake – Nikolski, Alaska

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in the Nikolski, Alaska region at 18:45 UTC on 3 Sept 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-14 19:25 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude: 5.3moderate
moment magnitude (W phase) (mww)
Depth: 10 km
Status: Reviewed
Origin time: 2026-09-03 18:45:39 UTC
Epicentre: 52.003° N, 169.333° W

Circles show this event and others within 56 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
Place	Distance	Est. shaking
No towns within 400 km. This is a remote area.

Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 176 km.

Every agency's solution

Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.

Agency	Magnitude	Depth	Epicentre	Time offset	Status
USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey	5.3 mww	10 km	52.00° N, 169.33° W	–	Reviewed

How big was it?

Felt by most people over a wide area. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.

It released roughly the energy of 1.3 kt of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 10 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

Compare M5.3 with M4.3

M5.3 releases about 32× the energy of M4.3, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 1.3 kt of TNT vs 43 t of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M4.3. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

172 later earthquakes within 56 km; the largest was M5.4 70 days ago. 114 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M5.3

172 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)	Magnitude	Depth (km)
0.06	3.4	35
0.13	2.6	24
0.19	3.4	10
0.35	2.7	7
0.52	3.0	10
0.62	2.5	10
0.66	2.6	10
0.70	4.0	37
1.38	3.0	35
1.49	3.7	25
1.59	5.4	10
1.61	5.0	33
1.77	3.8	38
1.91	4.4	10
2.13	2.6	15
2.19	2.8	12
3.84	2.8	10
3.90	2.8	8
3.93	3.0	18
3.94	3.3	10
4.12	2.7	10
4.14	3.3	10
4.26	2.5	35
4.45	3.0	10
4.61	2.7	23
4.67	2.6	10
4.76	2.5	10
5.15	2.8	11
5.19	2.9	10
5.20	3.0	10
5.27	2.6	10
5.63	2.8	10
6.50	2.9	16
6.73	2.9	7
6.87	3.0	10
7.03	3.3	10
7.07	2.8	10
7.08	3.8	10
7.22	2.5	10
7.34	3.0	10
7.35	3.9	25
7.56	2.5	10
7.60	2.6	10
7.65	2.8	8
7.90	2.8	9
8.09	2.7	10
8.78	2.9	10
8.82	3.5	8
8.92	2.7	35
9.46	2.8	30
9.89	3.5	10
10.34	2.8	12
10.42	2.7	10
10.71	2.6	10
10.86	2.5	11
11.44	2.6	10
12.10	2.8	1
12.36	2.7	16
12.66	2.8	10
13.18	2.7	10
13.55	2.7	5
13.77	2.6	35
13.97	2.7	11
14.23	2.7	22
14.66	3.3	35
15.64	3.2	28
16.86	2.7	11
17.29	2.6	35
19.39	2.8	10
19.90	4.0	35
20.12	3.1	35
20.80	2.9	10
22.73	2.6	25
31.25	3.1	29
32.20	3.2	17
32.51	3.0	10
32.96	2.8	10
33.41	2.5	35
33.55	2.7	27
35.54	2.7	10
38.39	2.7	14
39.22	2.7	20
41.69	2.8	10
42.16	2.8	7
44.07	3.0	35
45.40	2.7	5
45.48	2.9	10
47.24	4.9	29
47.43	2.8	20
54.35	2.8	8
57.61	3.8	25
57.68	2.9	22
58.41	2.8	10
61.06	2.8	21
62.30	2.7	10
64.35	2.8	14
64.54	2.9	17
65.75	2.8	18
68.22	3.1	10
68.71	3.9	10
74.48	2.7	11
75.91	2.7	11
76.92	2.7	6
77.11	2.8	13
79.71	3.2	10
80.56	2.6	12
86.49	2.7	11
88.02	2.8	5
89.52	3.1	10
90.33	2.7	13
90.49	2.7	22
91.54	2.7	35
108.09	3.2	10
109.46	2.9	10
109.52	2.7	10
119.17	3.2	10
119.24	3.4	10
119.69	2.6	10
120.11	2.7	10
123.36	2.8	10
124.28	4.0	35
124.31	3.1	10
124.38	2.7	7
124.54	2.7	10
124.70	2.7	13
125.62	2.7	12
125.64	3.7	40
129.77	2.6	11
130.19	2.5	3
151.74	2.5	11
159.62	2.6	21
163.84	2.6	22
165.57	2.7	35
176.13	3.3	10
179.60	2.8	10
180.64	2.7	18
180.74	2.7	19
189.42	2.6	14
191.66	3.1	35
215.51	3.3	35
220.50	2.5	39
223.02	2.5	9
237.16	2.8	5
241.92	2.7	16
242.28	2.9	35
268.10	2.7	10
277.96	2.7	10
287.00	2.9	52
287.25	2.8	18
326.44	2.7	14
342.37	3.8	10
354.56	3.2	45
377.97	4.0	38
395.19	2.9	23
395.25	2.9	10
399.50	3.0	10
404.47	2.7	10
451.45	2.5	5
458.25	3.1	14
458.42	2.9	10
459.89	2.7	14
479.49	3.3	34
554.76	4.0	35
604.13	2.5	21
606.33	2.7	8
606.88	2.8	7
625.03	2.6	3
633.99	2.8	10
634.18	2.8	10
641.47	2.5	10
656.87	3.1	10
718.33	3.1	35

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

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Event id us7000te2m. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:13 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us7000te2m). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M5.3 earthquake – Nikolski, Alaska”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us7000te2m-m5-3-earthquake-nikolski-alaska, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/us7000te2m. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.