Tsunami alert in southern Alaska canceled after an hour after 7.2 magnitude earthquake off coast
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska late Saturday, triggering a brief tsunami advisory for the southern part of the state, officials said.
The temblor occurred 65.8 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska, at 10:48 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said on social media.
The U.S. National Weather Service sent a tsunami advisory for coastal Alaska from Chignik Bay to Unimak Pass, saying the quake occurred at a depth of 13 miles. The agency canceled the advisory about an hour after the first alert.
The quake rattled throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Alaskan Peninsula and Cook Inlet regions, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.
TOURISTS WARNED TO STAY AWAY FROM ERUPTING VOLCANO IN ICELAND DUE TO SPEWING LAVA, NOXIOUS GASES
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake triggered a brief tsunami advisory for southern Alaska, monitoring bodies reported late Saturday. (Andy Varner/City of Sand Point via AP, File)
There were an estimated eight aftershocks in the same area of Alaska, including one measuring 5.0 magnitude within three minutes of the original earthquake, KTUU-TV reported.
Video on social media showed residents of Kodiak driving to shelters as sirens warned of a possible tsunami.
This image from the video posted to social media shows vehicles around Kodiak High School following the earthquake, in Kodiak, Alaska, on Saturday. (Jared Griffin via AP)
6.6 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES ATLANTIC OCEAN NEAR THE CARIBBEAN
Alaska experiences thousands of earthquakes each year, most of which are too deep and too small to be felt.
Alaska is the most seismically active state in the U.S. and the location of the second-largest earthquake ever recorded, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. In 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake in Prince William Sound caused extensive damage throughout south-central Alaska.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
