(ETH) – An 8.2 magnitude earthquake has struck off Alaska’s coast Wednesday night and was the strongest one since 1964, an official told CNN.
The very strong quake was located about 56 miles (91 kilometers) east southeast of Perryville, Alaska, and happened around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said.
At 29 miles deep (46.7 km), the earthquake is considered shallow. “This event was felt throughout the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak,” according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.
There have been at least two strong aftershocks, including a preliminary magnitude 6.2 and magnitude 5.6, the USGS reported. ” We are now all clear and anxiously awaited for any announcement about a wave hitting (our) island,” Kodiak Mayor Pat Branson told CNN in an email.
“The Emergency Operations Council was up and working monitoring and informing the public of any updates. Citizens did (evacuate). The quake also triggered tsunami warnings from Samalga Pass in the Aleutians to Prince William Sound according to Anchorage Daily News.
A tsunami advisory was in effect for the rest of Alaska’s coastline, including Southeast Alaska and the western Aleutians, and Hawaii was briefly on alert.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage, but the shaking was remarkable, even for residents feeling their third major earthquake in 13 months. In Sand Point, Patrick Mayer, the superintendent of schools for the Aleutians East Borough, was sitting in his kitchen when the shaking started.
