Iditarod musher Jon Korta's dog yard remains full of water after the Yukon River flooded Galena, Alaska. (Photo: AP)
Alaska: A strong earthquake near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands triggered a tsunami warning on Monday.
The National Tsunami Warning Center cancelled all tsunami warnings late Monday afternoon, about four hours after the earthquake struck.
The magnitude-7.9 earthquake was centered about 21 kilometers southeast of Little Sitkin Island.
There were no reports of damage, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Residents in some communities like Adak, which were first in line for the tsunami, did evacuate.
“We’re seeing water leave our bay, so we do have everybody up on the Bering Hill area, where our primary evacuation centre is at,” City Manager Layton Lockett told The Associated Press by telephone.
After the warning was cancelled, he said everyone in town remained on alert. If anything significant were to happen, a siren will sound and people would go back on the hill as soon as possible, he said.
A tsunami wave of about 18 centimetres was reported at Amchitka Island, Mr. Zidek said. The wave diminished the further it travelled, reaching only a couple of inches at Adak and Shemya.
But the earthquake was widely felt in Adak, one of the largest cities in the affected area. Shaking could also be felt in Shemya and other villages along the island chain.
Mr. Lockett said the prolonged shaking from the temblor put it in the top 10 of those felt recently.
“Everybody in our building went out, watching the vehicles shake and waiting for it to end,” he said.
( Source : AP )
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