Tsunami Warnings Canceled Following Earthquake Off Alaska
by Jessica Montevago /
Officials canceled tsunami warnings for Alaska and the Western coasts of the U.S. and Canada after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake off Alaska’s Kodiak Island prompted the alert.
The National Tsunami Warning Center rescinded the tsunami advisory after a few hours, saying "additional information and analysis have better defined the threat.” Watches in Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii, and advisories in South Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula were canceled. A small tsunami with a wave height of less than eight inches was reported in the Alaska towns of Old Harbor, Seward and Kodiak, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center.
Emergency workers urged people in coastal communities to evacuate inland or to higher ground, sending some seeking shelter in schools turned into evacuation centers. Residents said the tremors lasted at least 30 seconds, and could be felt as far as hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage.
Officials said there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake struck the Gulf of Alaska, 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island, just after midnight Tuesday. It was centered about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak, Alaska, at a depth of 15 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Although the tsunami warnings were canceled, San Francisco officials warned residents to stay away from coastlines for 12 hours, as “shoreline areas, marinas, and harbors may have dangerous, strong, and unpredictable currents.”