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. No serious damage had been reported.
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. Initially, the U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was a magnitude 8.2.
An advisory remained in effect for a small part of the Alaskan coast, and watches were canceled for Washington, Oregon, California, British Columbia and Hawaii. Officials in Japan also said there was no tsunami threat there.
CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA-TV kept viewers up to date:
UPDATE: Alaska tsunami warning downgraded to advisory for Seward area; reported waves under 1 foot https://t.co/aNEMJxlMQ7 pic.twitter.com/SJyh3gsOqA — KTVA 11 News (@ktva) January 23, 2018
After the quake hit, warnings from the National Weather Service sent to cellphones in Alaska warned: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."
Kodiak officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas.
About two hours after the quake, the city of Kodiak, which was projected to see the first wave at about 1:45 a.m., still had no reports of a wave hitting.
Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak Police Department said: "We haven't seen anything yet or had any reports of a wave."
However, officials were telling people to hold fast at evacuation centers until further notice. He said the town has several shelters above the 100-foot mark, and they were still encouraging people below that level to evacuate.
The earthquake woke Putney up out of a dead sleep, and he estimates it shook for at least 30 seconds.
"I've been Kodiak for 19 years that was the strongest, longest lasting one I've ever felt," he said by telephone.
But he said the police department has received no reports of damage.
Kodiak emergency officials said they'd received two reports that tide levels in the city's channel were fluctuating from six inches to a foot. Such fluctuations can sometimes be a warning of a coming tsunami.
Kodiak police posted a video warning of their Facebook page.
Sirens went off in Kodiak:
tsunami sirens going off in kodiak after the earthquake, i usually only ever hear the weekly siren test at 2pm on wednesdays so hearing it at 1am on tuesday is actually terrifying!! pic.twitter.com/ea5y7U6xnf — kylie j (@scarygirI) January 23, 2018
Also in Seward, Alaska:
San Francisco officials tweeted an urgent message: "If you are w/in SF & 3 blocks of the Pacific Coast or w/in 5 blocks of SF Bay, PREPARE TO EVACUATE SO YOU ARE READY IF EVACUATION IS NEEDED. Check on neighbors who may need help."
The U.S. Geological Survey tweeted an explanation of what caused the quake:
The latest from AP:
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 sending some residents fleeing to higher ground.
Officials at the National Tsunami Center canceled the warning after a few tense hours after waves failed to show up in coastal Alaska communities.
Alaska's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said there have been no reports of damage, so far.
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.
"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.
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.
An advisory remained in effect for a small part of the state. Watches were canceled for Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. Officials in Japan also said there was no tsunami threat there.
Warnings from the National Weather Service sent to cellphones in Alaska warned: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."
Kodiak officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas. Residents scrambled to safety, and some sought refuge in schools that were transformed into shelters.
The city of Kodiak was projected to see the first wave about an hour after the quake, but 90 minutes after the quake, there was no report of any waves.
Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak Police Department said: "We haven't seen anything yet or had any reports of a wave."
However, officials told people to hold fast at evacuation centers until further notice. He said the town has several shelters above the 100-foot mark, and they were still encouraging people below that level to evacuate.
The earthquake woke Putney out of a dead sleep, and he estimates it shook for at least 30 seconds.
"I've been Kodiak for 19 years that was the strongest, longest lasting one I've ever felt," he said by telephone.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said on his Twitter feed that he has been in contact with local officials and the state's adjutant general, and he urged residents to heed any warnings to move inland or to higher ground.
The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the quake was felt widely in several communities on the Kenai Peninsula and throughout southern Alaska, but it also had no immediate reports of damage. People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage.
Kerry Seifert, an emergency management specialist in the state emergency operations center, said no reports of damage had been received as the timeline for initial waves reaching some communities passed.
"This is almost too soon to be into it to get that kind of information," he said.
In Seward, about 110 miles southeast of Anchorage, residents retreated to higher ground or left on the only road out of the city, fire chief Athey said. He described it as a controlled evacuation and compared it to folks driving home from a holiday fireworks show.
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 any updates.
He said sirens go off in the community every week, as a test to make sure they are working. He said the sirens were sounded for the early Tuesday tsunami warning.
Keith Perkins, who lives in the southeast Alaska community of Sitka, arrived at the high school early Tuesday morning, after an alarm on his cellphone alerted him of the tsunami warning. He says the city's sirens also went off later.
He said people on Facebook were chattering back and forth about whether this was real or not and what they should do.
Given the magnitude of the earthquake, Perkins said he thought it best to head to school, the 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.
He said police officers were directing traffic and the parking lot at the school was filling up. He said he saw some people carrying suitcases or backpacks. Perkins said he didn't bring anything along.
A warning was issued for "widespread hazardous tsunami waves" after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake off the southeast coast of Alaska.
The quake - among the strongest in US history - hit at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles) some 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island at 00.31am on Tuesday local time, with waves of up to 32ft (10m) reported.
Parts of Alaska and the west coast Canada were issued with a tsunami warning and a tsunami watch was put in place for the entirety of the the US west coast, including California and Oregon, part of Washington state and Hawaii, with "hazardous tsunami waves" said to be possible within the first three hours of the earthquake.
Image: Emergency services in Kodiak. Pic: Ted Panamarioff
But the tsunami watch status was later cancelled throughout the US and Canada by the National Tsunami Centre, barring areas local to the quake itself in Alaska.
:: As it happened: Tsunami fears ease after huge US quake
#ALASKA #EARTHQUAKE ... reports of an 8.2 magnitude earthquake off the S coast of Alaska; buoy 46410 just northeast of the epicenter has recorded a water displacement of 10 meters (32 feet); #TSUNAMI WARNINGS posted for the S Alaska and W Canadian coastline pic.twitter.com/xmtvsoclMq — NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) January 23, 2018
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had said when news of the quake broke: "Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicentre."
Watches were put in place for British Columbia in Canada, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.
People in Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, reported feeling the quake, despite being hundreds of miles away.
Video: Sirens ring out in Alaska
Local resident and KTVA reporter Emily Carlson told Sky News she felt the "slow groan" of the tremor for around 30 or 40 seconds, but that the city was not under threat.
She said: "People are generally trying to stay very calm. I think people are worried and I've heard a lot of people heading to higher ground, but we're still monitoring it on social media. In the middle of the night, not everybody is by their phone.
Video: Cars line up to evacuate Alaska coast
"Where we are we are not in tsunami danger. Kodiak Island is where the earthquake is closest to and I've seen on social media people are evacuating and heading to the high school.
"Earthquakes to me are the scariest natural disaster that you could imagine because with earthquakes come tsunamis. But we live in Alaska so we hear about earthquakes all the time so while people are worried, it's very measured, they're calm, and they're just waiting to see what happens."
Image: The entirety of the US west coast is on tsunami watch
In Kodiak, one of seven communities on Kodiak Island, schools were used as shelters for people who evacuated their homes, with police there telling residents to retreat to higher ground and await further updates.
In a video posted to the Kodiak Police Department Facebook page shortly after the quake, a Sergeant Beaver said: "This is not a drill - this is an actual tsunami warning.
"Everybody get at least 100ft above sea level. Everybody get out of your homes and to a safe place. Best place right now is the high school parking lot."
Video: Tsunami warning 'not a drill'
The department later said in a statement: "Remain at high ground. We have received two reports that the tide levels have been fluctuating in the channel six inches to one foot."
But no areas appeared to be in immediate threat, with waves missing their predicted landfall time in Kodiak, which would likely have been the first community to be hit.
Alaska resident @emilyreporting describes her experience during the earthquake and has the latest on the US west coast tsunami warning pic.twitter.com/WyW1SUBjwi — Sky News (@SkyNews) January 23, 2018
In a wider warning for Alaska and British Columbia issued earlier, the 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.
"Tsunamis are a series of waves dangerous many hours after initial arrival time. The first wave may not be the largest."
Tue Jan 23 10:07:47 UTC 2018 event picture pic.twitter.com/qeKKqFTysB — NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 23, 2018
And in a message sent to smartphones in Alaska, the National Weather Service advised: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."
Several local government websites crashed under the strain of people seeking updates, including the nationwide state-run tsunami.gov.
#tsunami warning for BC notification zones A, B, C & D. More information from Environment Canada: https://t.co/y28IfBkpdm pic.twitter.com/JJrBei92v5 — Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) January 23, 2018
Ready - the US government's official campaign to prepare people for natural disasters - features online advise for those in the vicinity of a tsunami to stay away from the beach and head inland with only their family and pets in tow. People should move to higher ground if possible.
But the campaign website was not providing any live advice or updates due to the US government shutdown.
Image: People at an evacuation centre in Tolfino, British Columbia. Pic: Catherine Lempke
Only four earthquakes with a greater magnitude have ever been recorded in the US, all of which were in Alaska and caused a tsunami.
The most powerful came on 27 March 1964, when a 9.2 magnitude quake caused ground fissures, collapsed buildings and killed 139 people.
Japan's meteorological agency said it was monitoring the situation but has not issued a tsunami alert.
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Stephanie Wyzkoski, 42, who co-owns the Cranky Crow Bed and Breakfast in Kodiak with her husband, John, said emergency workers “told everyone to evacuate in the lower areas of town.”
“People are going to the high school and the town pool to evacuate,” she said.
“We are quite high up,” she added. “We are close to the hospital, so we have opened up our house to friends.”
After urging residents to seek higher ground, the police in Kodiak said that one popular area — Pillar Mountain — was at capacity. The police urged people to go instead to the local high school or to the Safeway or Walmart parking lots.
The warnings included San Francisco, where the authorities told people living within five blocks of the bay that they might need to evacuate.
The earthquake struck in the Gulf of Alaska, about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island. The 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 one in 1964 that, with a magnitude of 9.2 was the second-largest quake ever recorded.
But Peter J. Haeussler, a research geologist with the United States Geological Survey in Anchorage, said that the 7.9-magnitude quake most likely did not occur directly on a fault where the two plates meet. Rather, he said, it appeared more likely that the slip occurred on the ocean plate, 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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He said that tide gauges on Kodiak Island showed a small tsunami, of less than a foot, but the high water arrived more than an hour after it had been expected. It was possible that the wave was created by underwater slumping of sediments during the quake somewhere in the Gulf of Alaska, he said.
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Dr. Haeussler said he had been awakened by the quake at his home north of Anchorage, more than 350 miles from the epicenter, and that the shaking had lasted about a minute. By comparison, ground-shaking lasted about four and a half minutes during the 1964 quake.
He said he had spoken to a colleague on Kodiak Island, closer to the epicenter, who had felt a long, gentle rolling from the quake.
Geologists and residents of the West Coast have long been aware of the threat of “the big one.” A 2015 article in The New Yorker described, in occasionally terrifying detail, an expected megaquake in the Cascadia subduction zone, off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
After the quake on Tuesday, Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska urged residents to “heed local warnings to move inland or to higher ground.”
The Alaska Earthquake Center, which is affiliated with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, reported a series of aftershocks, the largest of which registered preliminarily as a 5.3.
“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. “We have no reason to suspect a follow-on earthquake of comparable, or larger, size than the M7.9 mainshock.”
Tuesday’s quake came nearly seven years after Japan was rattled by a 9.0-magnitude 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 9.1-magnitude 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.
