A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit off Alaska’s Kodiak Island early on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami warning for a large area of Alaska’s coast and Canada’s British Columbia, with watches for the US West Coast and Hawaii.
Officials at the National Tsunami Center have now canceled the warning after a few hours, when there appeared to be no waves appearing in coastal Alaskan communities. No serious damage to structures has been reported, CBS News reports.
The massive quake struck at 12:30 a.m., recorded some 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Kodiak is located around 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.
An advisory remains in effect for a small portion of the state’s coast, but watches for Washington, Oregon, California, British Columbia and Hawaii have been lifted. Officials in Japan have confirmed that there is no tsunami threat in the region.
Warnings from the National Weather Service were sent to cellphones in Alaska after the earthquake hit, saying, “Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland.”
Kodiak authorities told residents living in low-lying areas to evacuate. After two hours, the city of Kodiak, which was expected to see the first tsunami wave, reported none hitting. Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak Police Department said, “We haven’t seen anything yet or had any reports of a wave.”
To be safe, officials told people to remain at evacuation centers until further notice. Putney said that Kodiak has several shelters higher than the 100-foot mark, and that people in low-lying areas continue to be encouraged to evacuate.
The earthquake woke Putney from a deep sleep, and he says it lasted for around 30 seconds, “I’ve been Kodiak for 19 years that was the strongest, longest lasting one I’ve ever felt,” he said.
Authorities in Kodiak said that they had received report of fluctuating tide channels, which are sometimes warnings of an imminent tsunami.
