Big jolt but no injuries in Alaska earthquake

The magnitude 7.1 temblor strikes off the Kenai Peninsula, but it is widely felt in Anchorage.

ANCHORAGE — A magnitude 7.1 earthquake knocked items off shelves and walls in Alaska early Sunday, jolting the nerves of residents in the earthquakeprone region. But there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Alaska’s state seismologist, Michael West, called it the strongest earthquake in the state’s south-central region in decades.

Alaska often has powerful earthquakes in other parts of the state, such as one measured at 7.9 last year in the remote Aleutian Islands.

But Sunday morning’s earthquake was “significant because it was close enough to Alaska’s population centers,” West said, adding that aftershocks could continue for weeks.

The earthquake was widely felt by residents of Anchorage. But the Anchorage and Valdez police departments said they had not received reports of injury or significant damage.

The earthquake struck about 1:30 a.m. and was centered 53 miles west of Anchor Point in the Kenai Peninsula, which is about 160 miles southwest of Anchorage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Andrew Sayers, 26, of the Kenai Peninsula town of Kasilof was watching television when the quake struck.

“The house started to shake violently. The TV we were watching fell over, stuff fell off the walls,” he said. “Dishes were crashing, and we sprinted toward the doorway.”

Later, he was driving to his mother’s home when he came across a stretch of road that was damaged in the quake.

“We launched over this crack in the road. It’s a miracle we didn’t bust our tires on it,” he said.

In Kenai, one home was extensively damaged and an entire neighborhood evacuated after a gas leak was reported, Police Chief Gus Sandahl said.

The biggest aftershock Sunday was 4.7, and West said a magnitude 5 or magnitude 6 aftershock was possible.

A shelter was set up at the Kenai Armory for those evacuating their homes, and Sandahl said there were about 20 people there.

There were reports of scattered power outages from the Matanuska Electric Assn. and Chugach Electric in the Anchorage area.

The Homer Electric Assn. reported on its website that about 4,800 customers were without power early Sunday in the Kenai Peninsula.

Vincent Nusunginya Associated Press A GROCERY STORE after the earthquake. Many homes and businesses lost power, but there were no reports of significant damage, authorities said.