A tsunami warning was issued and then cleared for Alaska, the Canadian and U.S. West Coasts and Hawaii after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake jolted Alaska’s Kodiak Island in the early morning hours on Tuesday. The warning was canceled by the National Tsunami Center after a few hours when waves failed to show up.
The strong quake hit around 12:30 a.m. this morning about 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island. Kodiak is located in the Gulf of Alaska, about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage. Reports are that the quake lasted for about ninety seconds.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initially measured the earthquake at a magnitude of 8.2. That’s what prompted the warning. Coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia were under a tsunami warning, while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii was a under a tsunami watch.
Kodiak residents were warned to evacuate low-lying areas. First waves were projected to hit the island a little over an hour after the quake, but about two hours later, authorities still had no reports of a wave hitting. No serious damage has been reported.