“We’re very grateful that there was no major tsunami,” said Mayor Pat Branson of Kodiak, a city of about 6,200 people on an island of about 13,800, at a news conference around 4:30 a.m. local time. “We live in a very prone earthquake and tsunami area, and it’s a beautiful place, but that’s what you have when you live in paradise.”
Hawaii, which this month confronted an errant alert of an incoming ballistic missile, was briefly under a tsunami watch, but much of the alarm was concentrated in Alaska, where the earthquake woke people hundreds of miles from its epicenter.
Tsunami warning sirens sounded, cellphones pinged with emergency alerts, and in Kodiak, which suffered major damage when an earthquake in 1964 sparked a tsunami, roads filled as residents rushed toward higher ground.
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“I was at home asleep when I woke up with the shaking,” said Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak police after he evacuated his wife and children to a friend’s home that was on higher ground. “It felt like it went on for quite a while: 30 seconds or a minute or so.”
At the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, the lobby shook and an urgent alert from the government appeared to unnerve some guests in the 270 or so rooms that were occupied early Tuesday.
“It was pretty crazy because for a while I just had to calm the people down,” said Michael Specking, who works at the front desk of the hotel. “Everyone in the hotel called down at once. Everybody kind of freaked out because of that alert.”
Even in Anchorage, about 350 miles from the epicenter, Mr. Specking said, “You could look over down the hall and see everything shaking. Our front doors were shaking, you could see the windows moving.”
The earthquake occurred about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island. This region is part of a large subduction zone, where one large piece of the earth’s surface, or plate — in this case the floor of the Pacific Ocean — is slowly sliding under another — the North American continent.
The Alaska subduction zone is the source of many earthquakes, including the one in 1964 that, at magnitude 9.2, was the second largest ever recorded.
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But Peter Haeussler, a research geologist with the United States Geological Survey in Anchorage, said that the 7.9 quake on Tuesday did not occur directly where the two plates meet. Rather, he said, it appeared that the slip occurred on the Pacific plate only, at a point where it bends as it starts to slide under the continent.
The direction of the fault movement in this case would be horizontal — more like the San Andreas fault in California — and would be less likely to generate large tsunamis, Dr. Haeussler said.
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The Alaska Earthquake Center, which is affiliated with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, reported a series of aftershocks, the largest of which preliminarily registered as a 5.6.
“Given the location and type of mainshock, we anticipate vigorous aftershocks in the magnitude 4-5 range and can expect aftershocks of magnitude 6 or larger,” the center said in a post on Twitter early on Tuesday. “We have no reason to suspect a follow-on earthquake of comparable, or larger, size than the M7.9 mainshock.”
In a separate post, the earthquake center said the aftershocks suggested “the fault ruptured along a North-South oriented fault.”
Tuesday’s quake came nearly seven years after Japan was rattled by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the strongest ever recorded there. The earthquake set off a powerful tsunami that breached the sea walls of coastal towns, killing at least 15,000 people and sparking a major crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
A magnitude 9.1 earthquake, one of the most powerful ever recorded, struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra in December 2004, generating enormous waves that killed more than 230,000 people, mostly in Indonesia but also in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and as far away as Somalia.
In Yakutat on Tuesday, Ms. Latham recalled how she had driven, with a 90-year-old neighbor and the neighbor’s dog, through 3 feet of snow to get to safety.
“The dog thought it was great,” she said. “It was going for a ride at 1:30 in the morning.”
She eventually parked her sport-utility vehicle in the parking lot of a Catholic church. She waited. And then word from came over the radio: all clear.
The quake prompted a tsunami warning for parts of Alaska and Canada and a tsunami watch for the entire US west coast, the US Tsunami Warning System said, when it hit at 9.31am GMT (12.31am local time) on Tuesday. A tsunami watch means emergency officials and the public should prepare to take action. Fleeing motorists clogged motorways and many took refuge in schools and shelters.Despite fears the earthquake would impact the entire US west coast, tsunami warnings and watches were gradually downgraded and at around 1.15pm GMT, people in Kodiak were given the all-clear. Alaska's coastal residents were urged to head inland to higher ground when the quake struck 157 miles (256km) south-east of Chiniak, Alaska. People on Kodiak Island, one of the closest populated areas to the epicentre, were urged to stay away from the coast after the quake struck just 175 miles away. ALASKA EARTHQUAKE LIVE
GETTY•TSUNAMI.GOV Tsunami warnings urged people in Alaska and Canada to seek higher ground
A buoy just northeast of the epicentre recorded water displacement of 32 feet (10 metres) - an indication of the extraordinary power of the quake. The quake, initially measured at 8.2 on the Richter Scale, has since been downgraded to a magnitude of 7.9 by the US Geological Survey (USGS). People were alerted to the danger by text messages and those in affected areas have been urged to seek high ground. The text received by thousands of Alaskans this morning read: "Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland. Listen to local news.-NWS." An announcer on KMXT public radio interrupted the regular broadcast to tell listeners: "This is a tsunami warning. this is not a drill. Please get out to higher ground.
Alaska earthquake: Latest tsunami warning maps Tue, January 23, 2018 Alaska has been hit by an 8.2 magnitude earthquake sparking a tsunami warning across the US west coast, Hawaii and Canada as well as Alaska Play slideshow www.tsunami.gov 1 of 9 Tsunami warning map for Alaska
REUTERS Cars queue as they try to get to higher ground following the tsunami warnings
"If you are on the flats, get up on one of the hills ... Just go high." Police in Kodiak reported that the water in Old Harbor started to recede earlier but fortunately the effects of the hurricane on populated areas has been minimal. During a tsunami, the waters move back as the waves gathers before it crashes into the coast. Citizens were warned to move to higher ground if they were not already in an area deemed to be safe from any tsunami waves. The NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that, based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, "widespread hazardous tsunami waves were possible".
TWITTER•@CONNOR_REUS This image from Twitter user @Connor_Reus shows emergency services on the scene in Kodiak
TWITTER•@CONNOR_REUS Twitter user @connor_reus tweeted this image from a Kodiak evacuation spot
People in Kodiak were woken up by the tremors shortly after midnight and tsunami sirens can be heard across the island. One Twitter user warned that the roads are "snowy and icy", meaning potential difficulties for those trying to flee to higher ground. Helicopters flew over the island as millions of people across the west coast of North America braced for tsunami waves to hit the coast. Kodiak Radio told people on the island to head inland, according to one Twitter user, who added: "fishing vessels were said to be heading out". Nathaniel Moore, who was on a boat in Kodiak, said he felt it "shake really good for a minute." He and others left the fishing vessel after the earthquake to head for higher ground amid the tsunami warning.
Alaska earthquake LIVE evacuation pictures Tue, January 23, 2018 Alaska has been hit by an 8.2 magnitude earthquake sparking a tsunami warning across the US west coast, Hawaii and Canada as well as Alaska Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 8 People are seen waiting at community hall during tsunami warning in Tofino
TWITTER•@CAT_LEMPKE People in Tofino, on Vancouver Island, have headed to emergency centres following the warning
TWITTER•NWS BOSTON
He told CNN: ”The whole town is evacuating.” Heather Rand, who was in Anchorage, said the earthquake "was a slow roller, so it was felt for at least a minute before the real rolling started. Nothing fell off the walls and I didn't have to wake my kiddo. "It was a very long, slow build up. Creepy, more than anything. Definitely the longest, and I was born here.” Reports on social media suggest the tremors were felt as far south as Seatle and Vancouver. Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, issued an extreme warning, saying there is "extraordinary threat to life or property".
In a warning for Alaska and British Columbia, Anchorage Office of Emergency Management said: “If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground. Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is possible or is already occurring.” Shaun Dyess said: “I’m here in Anchorage Alaska. It was shaking for a long time. Hope no one got hurt.” Meanwhile, a tsunami watch had been issued for Hawaii but has since been cancelled. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said: "Based on all available data there is no tsunami threat to the state of Hawaii. Therefore ... the tsunami watch for Hawaii is now cancelled.”
TWITTER•NWS TSUNAMI ALERTS This map shows when potentially hazardous waves are expected to reach parts of the coast
The quake had a depth of around six miles, according to USGS. It is already expected to be one of the largest quakes in US history. Alaska is situated on the Ring of Fire, a huge area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions frequently occur. Mayor Pat Branson of Kodiak told reporters at a newsconference at 4.30am: “We’re very grateful that there was no major tsunami. “We live in a very prone earthquake and tsunami area, and it’s a beautiful place, but that’s what you have when you live in paradise.”
Story highlights Type of quake and its location helped minimize damage
More than 45 aftershocks follow
(CNN) Forecasters canceled tsunami warnings for Alaska and the US and Canadian west coasts Tuesday after an earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska stoked fears of damaging waves.
The tsunami alerts were canceled "because additional information and analysis have better defined the threat," said the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska
Small tsunami waves of less than 1 foot were reported in Alaska, the center said.
JUST WATCHED What causes a tsunami? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What causes a tsunami? 00:51
The minor tsunami was triggered by a magnitude-7.9 earthquake that struck shortly after midnight. It was centered about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak, at a depth of 15 miles, the US Geological Survey said.
The temblor was followed by at least 45 aftershocks of 3.0 or greater.
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