Two strong earthquakes strike Alaska's Andreanof Islands region

[News_Editor]

Two strong earthquakes strike Alaska's Andreanof Islands region

2010-10-08 11:02:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

ADAK, ALASKA (BNO NEWS) -- Two strong earthquakes struck the Andreanof Islands region in Alaska on early Thursday evening, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The first earthquake, at 6.26 p.m. AKDT (0326 GMT), had a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale and was centered approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) east-southeast of Adak, an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group. It struck about 12.8 miles (20.6 kilometers) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Soon later, at 6.49 p.m. AKDT (0349 GMT), a 6.1-magnitude aftershock struck about 76 miles (122 kilometers) southeast of Adak. That earthquake struck about 19.9 miles (32 kilometers) deep, according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

"The magnitude is such that a tsunami is not expected," the center said in a bulletin. "However, in coastal areas of intense shaking, locally generated tsunamis can be triggered by underwater landslides."

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-10-08