ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Residents from various communities along a 700-mile (1,127-km) expanse of Alaska’s southern coastline were instructed to move to higher elevations Wednesday following a strong earthquake that triggered a tsunami warning.
The quake, with a magnitude of 7.3, occurred at 12:37 p.m. local time, just south of Sand Point, a settlement of roughly 580 inhabitants on Popof Island, part of the Aleutian chain, as reported by the Alaska Earthquake Center. Initially, the first waves were estimated to arrive there, but Alaska’s emergency management division announced an hour post-quake that no damage reports had been received.
“We have experienced other quakes in this region that did not lead to major tsunami waves, but we are approaching the situation seriously, ensuring all protocols are followed and communities are informed so that they can carry out their evacuation measures,” stated spokesman Jeremy Zidek.
The U.S. Tsunami Center said the warning was in effect from about 40 miles (64.4 km) southwest of Homer to Unimak Pass, a distance of about 700 miles. Among the larger communities in the area is Kodiak, population 5,200.
In Unalaska, a fishing community of about 4,100, officials also urged people to move at least 50 feet above sea level, 1 mile (1.6 km) inland. In King Cove, which has about 870 residents on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, officials sent an alert calling on those in the coastal area to move to higher ground.
The earthquake prompted Washington officials to analyze whether there was any danger to the state, but data from tsunami buoys showed there was not, the Washington Emergency Management Division said on X Wednesday afternoon.
