Tsunami alerts for U.S. West Coast after massive quake

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A magnitude 7.9 earthquake off Alaska’s Kodiak Island prompted a tsunami warning for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia, while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast were under tsunami watches. The strong earthquake was recorded about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island early Tuesday morning. A tsunami watch for Hawaii was later canceled.

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.

People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage.

“If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground,” the Anchorage Office of Emergency Management said. “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.”

Kodiak police posted a video warning of their Facebook page.

“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 epicenter,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

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.”

Kodiak, Alaska, was projected to see the first wave at about 1:45 a.m. About a half hour later, Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak Police Department said there had been no reports of a wave and nothing had been seen, yet.

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.

The police had not received any reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey tweeted an explanation of what caused the quake:

The M 7.9 occurred as the result of strike slip faulting. At it’s location, the Pacific plate is converging with the North America plate.

Over the preceding century, 11 other M7+ earthquakes have occurred within 600 km of today’s earthquake.https://t.co/JzzWd0ID2k— USGS (@USGS) January 23, 2018