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. 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.
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.
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: Tsunami advisory canceled, no reports of major damage after 7.9 quake off Kodiak https://t.co/aNEMJxlMQ7 pic.twitter.com/418IroqcuK — 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."
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.
Alaska and other parts of North America were bracing itself for a small tsunami after a huge 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck at a shallow depth some 160 miles off the state's coast. That earthquake could trigger a dangerous tsunami across the west coast, people were warned.
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.
The quake prompted a red tsunami warning for parts of Alaska and Canada and and a tsunami watch for the entire US west coast, the US Tsunami Warning System said.
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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
Experts from the US Geological Survey said the 3.7 magnitude Hawaii quake struck 36 miles off the coast of Honokaa at 12.38am local time, just seven minutes after the more powerful Kodiak Island tremor. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Experts said the Honokaa quake was the the fourth and most powerful tremor to hit Hawaii in the last 24 hours. Earthquaketrack.com said there had also been a 1.7 magnitude tremor at Pahala, a 2,1 magnitude quake in Kapauu and a further 1.8m magnitude quake just before the Honokaa tremor.
USGS Map showing the site of the Hawaii earthquake
The earlier Kodiak Island quake triggered a tsunami warning for parts of Alaska and Canada and a tsunami watch for all the Hawaiin Islands and the entire US west coast. The NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that, based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, "widespread hazardous tsunami waves were possible". Reports on social media suggest the tremors were felt as far south as Seatle and Vancouver. Japan's meteorological agency said it was monitoring the situation but did not issue a tsunami alert.
EARTHQUAKETRACK.COM Map highlighting recent earthquake activity around Hawaii
