ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Alaska's Kodiak Island early Tuesday, prompting a tsunami warning for a large swath of the state's coast and Canada's British Columbia, and watches for the rest of the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii. Officials at the National Tsunami Center canceled the warning after a few tense hours after waves failed to show up in coastal Alaska communities.
The strong earthquake hit at 12:30 a.m. and was recorded about 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Kodiak Island is located about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, which was not under a tsunami threat. Reports varied about how long the shaking lasted. In the popular cruise ship town of Seward, about 230 miles northeast of Kodiak Island, fire chief Eddie Athey said the quake felt like a gentle rattle and lasted for up to 90 seconds.
There were no immediate reports of damage, not even on Kodiak Island, the closest land to the epicenter of the quake.
Initially, the USGS said the earthquake was a magnitude 8.2. That prompted the tsunami warning for coastal Alaska and Canada's British Columbia, while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.
A tsunami warning for the southern coastline of Alaska -- from the Aleutian Islands to Southeast Alaska -- was downgraded to a tsunami advisory for the coastline east of Seward to Chignik Bay. It was later canceled, CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA-TV reported.
Elsewhere in the United States, Washington state, Oregon, California and Hawaii were under tsunami watches, which eventually were lifted. Officials in Japan say there was no tsunami threat there.
For Alaskans accustomed not only to tsunami threats but also to regular drills, the early morning alert that made cellphone alarms go off still created some fretful moments. The phone message read: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."
Keith Perkins got the phone alert and later heard sirens going off in his southeast Alaska hometown of Sitka. He said people on Facebook were talking about whether the threat was real and what they should do.
Given the magnitude of the earthquake, Perkins said, he thought it best to head to the high school, a tsunami evacuation point, even though in the past he felt his home was at a "high-enough spot."
"I figured I'd probably just better play it safe," he said.
@Jupiter00000
People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage. Reports varied about how long the quake's shaking lasted, depending on location.
In the popular cruise ship town of Seward, about 110 miles south of Anchorage, Fire Chief Eddie Athey said the quake felt like a gentle rattle that lasted for up to 90 seconds.
"It went on long enough that you start thinking to yourself, 'Boy, I hope this stops soon because it's just getting worse,'" Athey said.
The earthquake woke Kodiak Police Lt. Tim Putney from a dead sleep. He said it shook for at least 30 seconds but admits his estimate might be skewed by sleeping through some of it.
"I've been in Kodiak for 19 years that was the strongest, longest-lasting one I've ever felt," he said by telephone.
John Bellini, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center, said there had been more than two dozen aftershocks as of about 6:30 a.m. The biggest aftershock had a magnitude of 5.3.
The earthquake was initially reported as magnitude 8.2, but Bellini said as more data comes in, better calculations can be made. Earthquake waves take time to spread.
Kodiak was projected to get the first tsunami wave, and officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas. Some people sought refuge in schools. The wave never materialized there or in other coastal communities like Homer and Seward, and the warning was soon canceled.
Larry LeDoux, superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, said schools were open as shelters and estimated there were about 500 people at the high school. He described the atmosphere inside as calm, with people waiting for updates.
He said sirens go off in the community every week as a test to make sure they are working.
In Seward, at the southern end of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, residents retreated to higher ground or left on the only road out of the city, the fire chief said. He described it as a controlled evacuation and compared it to people driving home from a holiday fireworks show.
Officials later tweeted: "National Tsunami Warning Center has CANCELLED the Tsunami Watch for San Francisco."
National Tsunami Warning Center has CANCELLED the Tsunami Watch for San Francisco. Check your email for more informa https://t.co/LH5QIHH0jQ — San Francisco DEM (@SF_emergency) January 23, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey tweeted an explanation of what caused the quake:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Alaska's Kodiak Island early Tuesday, prompting a tsunami warning for a large swath of the state's coast and Canada's British Columbia, and watches for the rest of the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii. Officials at the National Tsunami Center canceled the warning after a few tense hours after waves failed to show up in coastal Alaska communities.
The strong earthquake hit at 12:30 a.m. and was recorded about 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Kodiak Island is located about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, which was not under a tsunami threat. Reports varied about how long the shaking lasted. In the popular cruise ship town of Seward, about 230 miles northeast of Kodiak Island, fire chief Eddie Athey said the quake felt like a gentle rattle and lasted for up to 90 seconds.
There were no immediate reports of damage, not even on Kodiak Island, the closest land to the epicenter of the quake.
Initially, the USGS said the earthquake was a magnitude 8.2. That prompted the tsunami warning for coastal Alaska and Canada's British Columbia, while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.
A tsunami warning for the southern coastline of Alaska -- from the Aleutian Islands to Southeast Alaska -- was downgraded to a tsunami advisory for the coastline east of Seward to Chignik Bay. It was later canceled, CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA-TV reported.
Elsewhere in the United States, Washington state, Oregon, California and Hawaii were under tsunami watches, which eventually were lifted. Officials in Japan say there was no tsunami threat there.
For Alaskans accustomed not only to tsunami threats but also to regular drills, the early morning alert that made cellphone alarms go off still created some fretful moments. The phone message read: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."
Keith Perkins got the phone alert and later heard sirens going off in his southeast Alaska hometown of Sitka. He said people on Facebook were talking about whether the threat was real and what they should do.
Given the magnitude of the earthquake, Perkins said, he thought it best to head to the high school, a tsunami evacuation point, even though in the past he felt his home was at a "high-enough spot."
"I figured I'd probably just better play it safe," he said.
@Jupiter00000
People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage. Reports varied about how long the quake's shaking lasted, depending on location.
In the popular cruise ship town of Seward, about 110 miles south of Anchorage, Fire Chief Eddie Athey said the quake felt like a gentle rattle that lasted for up to 90 seconds.
"It went on long enough that you start thinking to yourself, 'Boy, I hope this stops soon because it's just getting worse,'" Athey said.
The earthquake woke Kodiak Police Lt. Tim Putney from a dead sleep. He said it shook for at least 30 seconds but admits his estimate might be skewed by sleeping through some of it.
"I've been in Kodiak for 19 years that was the strongest, longest-lasting one I've ever felt," he said by telephone.
John Bellini, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center, said there had been more than two dozen aftershocks as of about 6:30 a.m. The biggest aftershock had a magnitude of 5.3.
The earthquake was initially reported as magnitude 8.2, but Bellini said as more data comes in, better calculations can be made. Earthquake waves take time to spread.
Kodiak was projected to get the first tsunami wave, and officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas. Some people sought refuge in schools. The wave never materialized there or in other coastal communities like Homer and Seward, and the warning was soon canceled.
Larry LeDoux, superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, said schools were open as shelters and estimated there were about 500 people at the high school. He described the atmosphere inside as calm, with people waiting for updates.
He said sirens go off in the community every week as a test to make sure they are working.
In Seward, at the southern end of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, residents retreated to higher ground or left on the only road out of the city, the fire chief said. He described it as a controlled evacuation and compared it to people driving home from a holiday fireworks show.
Officials later tweeted: "National Tsunami Warning Center has CANCELLED the Tsunami Watch for San Francisco."
National Tsunami Warning Center has CANCELLED the Tsunami Watch for San Francisco. Check your email for more informa https://t.co/LH5QIHH0jQ — San Francisco DEM (@SF_emergency) January 23, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey tweeted an explanation of what caused the quake:
Much of the west coast of the US was woken by the threat of a huge tsunami overnight. But the panic soon subsided after all warnings were eventually withdrawn
Alaska and other parts of North America were bracing itself for disaster after a huge 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck at a shallow depth some 160 miles off the state's coast.
While alerts were originally issued across the entire west coast of America and Canada, they have since been withdrawn for all states. That was after people were told to head to high ground and get safe amid fears the tsunami could cause serious damage.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck 256 km (157 miles) southeast of Chiniak, Alaska at a depth of 10 km at 0931 GMT on Tuesday morning.
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A tsunami warning for the coast of British Columbia has been cancelled after a powerful earthquake struck Alaska Tuesday morning.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck at about 1:32 a.m. PST and had a preliminary reading of 8.2, which it later revised to 7.9. It struck 278 kilometres southeast of Kodiak at a depth of about 10 kilometres.
#Tsunami Warning previously issued for coastal areas of #BC has been CANCELLED. Continue to listen to instructions from local officials until the ALL CLEAR has been issued in your community. Story continues below — Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) January 23, 2018
LIVE UPDATES: Latest on the earthquake and tsunami warning
Environment Canada has initially issued a tsunami warning, but hours later it was cancelled and evacuations have been lifted.
The warning has also been cancelled for Alaska and the U.S. west coast.
Tsunami warnings have ended for:
Central Coast and Northeast Vancouver Island coast including Kitimat Bella Coola and Port Hardy
The Outer West Coast of Vancouver Island from Cape Scott to Port Renfrew
Wind warning in effect for
North Vancouver Island
The U.S. National Weather Service has initially issued this graphic illustrating tsunami travel time contours.
Tue Jan 23 10:07:47 UTC 2018 event picture pic.twitter.com/qeKKqFTysB — NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 23, 2018
Waking up to sirens
Residents along the province’s coast were woken by warning sirens shortly after the quake struck off the coast of Alaska.
There were a dozen aftershocks after the earthquake — the biggest being a 5.6 magnitude.
Local radio on the Alaskan island of Kodiak, close to the epicentre, urged listeners to move away from coastal areas.
LISTEN: Jon McComb talks to news anchor Gord Macdonald about the tsunami warning
Evacuations were also in place for parts of B.C.
“This is a tsunami warning. this is not a drill. Please get out to higher ground,” said the announcer on KMXT public radio. “If you are on the flats, get up on one of the hills … Just go high.”
There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
— With files from Reuters
