Powerful quake produces small tsunami in Alaska
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ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — powerful earthquake off Alaska’s southern coast jolted sparsely populated coastal communities late Tuesday, and some residents briefly fled to higher ground over fears of a tsunami.
There were no immediate reports of damage in the Alaska Peninsula and the tsunami warning was canceled after the magnitude 7.8 quake offshore produced a wave of less than a foot.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake struck Tuesday at 10:12 p.m. local time and was centered in waters 65 miles south-southeast of the tiny community of Perryville, at a depth of 17 miles.
Because of the temblor’s location, some nearby Alaska Peninsula communities did not experience shaking that would normally be associated with the quake’s magnitude, said Michael West, Alaska state seismologist.
Residents in some small towns within a hundred miles of the quake reported very strong shaking and some shaking was felt more than more than 500 miles away in the Anchorage area, West said.
The tsunami warning prompted coastal residents to evacuate to higher ground, with social media posts showing long lines of people fleeing towns like Homer and Kodiak as tsunami sirens wailed in the background.
On Kodiak Island about 200 miles northeast of where the earthquake was centered, the local high school and the Catholic church opened their doors for evacuees and the school parking lot was declared a safe zone, with some people staying in their cars with pets until it was safe to go home. “No reports of any damage,” said Kodiak police Sgt. Mike Sorter. “No injuries were reported. Everything is nominal.”
Such tsunami warnings are commonplace in Alaska coastal communities, similar to tornado warnings elsewhere in the U.S. that prompt people to take shelter.
Alaska is the most actively seismic U.S. state. Nearly 25,000 earthquakes have been recorded in Alaska since Jan. 1, according to the center.