A pair of earthquakes shook southcentral Alaska Monday evening. The first was a magnitude 4.3 quake that was recorded 14 miles southeast of Moose Pass. It was recorded at a depth of 18.7 miles and reported at 6:58 p.m. The second earthquake, which was larger than the Moose Pass one was a magnitude 4.7 quake that was 9 miles southeast of Tyonek, which was at a depth of 31.7 miles and reported at 11:24 p.m.
The quake near Moose Pass was felt throughout Seward, Whittier, Cooper Landing, Anchorage, and the Mat-Su Valley. The shaker near Tyonek was felt throughout the central Kenai Peninsula including in Nikiski, Sterling, Kenai, and Soldotna, and was felt throughout Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley.
According to the Alaska Earthquake Center, which stated that both earthquakes are categorized as ‘light’ earthquakes, shakers in southcentral Alaska are produced by several features, including being generated by the megathrust fault that marks the contact zone between the subducting Pacific and overriding North American plates.
Initial seismic data indicates that there’s no significant damage reported, but was felt by many across southcentral Alaska including the Mat-Su Valley, Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula.