No tsunami threat to California after Aleutian Islands earthquake

An earthquake in Alaska’s western Aleutian Islands on Tuesday prompted no tsunami alerts, according to federal agencies.

The National Tsunami Warning Center said scientists analyzed the event at 9:55 a.m. PST on March 4, 2026, and determined there was “NO tsunami, NO danger from a recent earthquake,” locating it about 0.25 miles southeast of Buldir Island.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake at magnitude 6.4, centered roughly 224 kilometers (139 miles) east-southeast of Attu Station at a depth of 10 kilometers. Initial magnitude and location estimates can vary between agencies as data are refined.

At 11:00 a.m., the National Weather Service reported, “There is NO TSUNAMI threat for California from this recent earthquake near Alaska.”

USGS rated the quake VI, meaning strong shaking with light damage, on its scale from I to X+. 

A series of smaller earthquakes followed the initial quake within the Aleutian arc towards Alaska.

The Aleutian arc stretches about 3,000 kilometers from the Gulf of Alaska to Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, marking where the Pacific tectonic plate subducts beneath the North American plate. This subduction zone forms the Aleutian Islands and the deep offshore Aleutian Trench, and is responsible for frequent seismic activity in the region.