In brief
German research centre GFZ recorded a 5.0‑magnitude, 10‑km deep quake south of Alaska at 02:35 GMT on 6 November 2026. A later report from the World Earthquake Report cites the same event at 10:26 pm with weak tremors in Arcata, Garberville and McKinleyville, raising questions about the precise timing and epicentral location of the quake. The discrepancy remains unresolved.
A 5.0‑magnitude earthquake shook a region south of Alaska late on Friday, 6 November 2026. The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) first reported the event at 02:35 GMT, describing it as a shallow quake at a depth of 10 km.
The GFZ’s preliminary assessments placed the epicenter at 53.69°N latitude and 162.81°W longitude, cataloguing it as a moderate but significant offshore tremor.
Xinhua’s brief release echoed the GFZ’s timing, noting the magnitude and shallow depth and confirming the location coordinates as initial.
In contrast, the World Earthquake Report for Thursday, 5 November 2026 cites a primary data source of GFZ/EMSC, recording the quake at 10:26 pm on that day and reporting weak shaking in Arcata, Garberville, and McKinleyville – towns situated along California’s northern coast.
That report lists the GFZ/EMSC as the source of its data, yet offers a starkly different temporal and spatial picture from the GFZ’s own brief.
GFZ delineated the earthquake as a shallow, 10‑km depth event, while the alternate account does not specify depth but focuses on the extent of felt shaking far south of the reported epicenter.
The discrepancy in geographic claims – Alaska versus the California coast – and the differing times have prompted analysts to highlight the lack of a unified, definitive description of the seismic event’s parameters.
Both accounts agree on a magnitude of 5.0, but diverge on the details of when and where the rupture actually occurred.
Until further seismic data or refined analyses are released, the precise nature of the quake’s location, timing, and the extent of its shock wave remain uncertain and contested.