Several seismic waves struck the Pacific Rim early Monday, February 23, 2026, as a severe 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit the isolated Fox Islands in Alaska’s Aleutian chain, followed by a second, less powerful quake that shook people near Torrance and Redondo Beach, Calif. The two episodes were about thousands of miles away, but they marked a powerful reminder of the volatile tectonic forces running the “Ring of Fire.”
Alaska: A Shallow, Powerful Strike
The Alaskan earthquake struck at about 5:11 AM UTC (late Sunday night local time) just outside of Nikolski. The quake was shallow, with a depth of only 1 kilometer, which can make shaking below the surface even worse, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) noted. It was situated within the Fox Islands, a section of the Aleutian arch known for its intense volcanism and earthquake activity.
Though it was of such great magnitude, however, the U.S. Tsunami Warning System did not provide any warnings for the Alaskan coast and Pacific. Due to the secluded nature of the Aleutians, there were no reported casualties or severe structural damage in the sparsely populated area. But authorities in Nikolski and Unalaska are maintaining a high-level emergency alert for aftershocks, which happen frequently after a “strong” classification temblor.
Southern California: A Short, Sharp Jolt
Hours before, 9:40 PM local time on Sunday, a 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California, a stark contrast for the populous Los Angeles County. About 14 miles southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes was where the quake struck at 10.8 km depth. Torrance-based citizens in Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach reported feeling a brief but sharp jolt that shook glass windows and set off alarms on their automobiles.
"It felt like a heavy truck hit the side of the house," a single Redondo Beach resident wrote on social media. The USGS "Did You Feel It?" map got hundreds of reports from around the world within minutes, with shaking felt as far inland as Carson and Long Beach. Luckily, there were no reports of injuries or serious property damage, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported no emergency phone calls for the event.
The Connectivity to the “Ring of Fire”
And although seismologists say that the Alaska and California quakes weren’t directly related to one another in a “triggering” sort of way, both took place at large points near where the Pacific Plate contacts the North American Plate. The Aleutian arc of subduction is a belt where the Pacific Plate descends and slides under Alaska, while seismic activity in Southern California is dominated by transform faults like San Andreas. Nearly concurrent such episodes underscore the active character of the Pacific margin with thousands of small and moderate quakes every year documented in the earth’s natural shift.
