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Powerful quake hits Gulf of Alaska |
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January 23, 2018 |
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| A National Weather Service map
showing the red tsunami warning zone as
well as the yellow tsunami watch zone of
January 23, 2018. The original watches
and warnings ran south from Alaska, into
Washington and California and also
included Hawaii. Within four hours of
the quake, all tsunami warnings were
cancelled, according to the Pacific
Tsunamic Warning Center. |
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By Deborah Byrd
EarthSky.org
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a
very large earthquake this morning in the Gulf
of Alaska. It was originally reported at 8.2
magnitude, then downgraded
further to 7.0; even at the lowest number, it’s
still a powerful quake. The earthquake struck on
January 23, 2018, at 2:31 a.m. Pacific Time 174
miles southeast of Kodiak, Alaska.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued
tsunami watches or warnings for large portions
of the Pacific, including a watch for the U.S.
west coast from Washington to California as well
as Hawaii, and a tsunami warning for the coast
of Alaska and the Canadian province of British
Columbia. Subsequently, all watches and warnings
have subsequently been cancelled.
There were reports of some panic in Kodiak,
sirens blaring, people being woken from sleep,
near the quake’s epicenter. Waters were then
said to be receding in Kodiak, and waves were
said to have been “small.”
Tuesday’s quake came nearly seven years after
Japan was rattled by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake,
the strongest ever recorded there. The
earthquake set off a powerful tsunami that
breached the sea walls of coastal towns, killing
at least 15,000 people and sparking a major
crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Station.
There have been no reports of injury or
significant damage. |
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