A 7.8 magnitude earthquake rippled across the Alaska isles on Tuesday night and threatened to produce a small tsunami in the nearly vacant region of islands stretching into the Pacific Ocean.
The earthquake struck just after 10 p.m. Alaska Standard Time and affected the stretch of islands 65 miles south-southeast of Perryville, Alaska, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Tsunami sirens instructed coastal residents to find safer ground. The earthquake, however, failed to produce a strong sea change.
Alaska state seismologist Michael West said the temblor was so remote that very few people were alerted on the Alaska isles, but there were reports of some minor shaking in Anchorage, more than 500 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter.
In Kodiak, only 200 miles north of the epicenter, police Sgt. Mike Sorter said the impact was minimal.
“No reports of any damage,” Sorter said. “No injuries were reported. Everything is nominal.”
Officials with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, called off tsunami warnings after recording only small changes in the movement of the sea.
