Powerful 7.4-magnitude quake rocks Alaskan island, tsunami warning issued

2011-06-24 10:52:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

AMUKTA PASS, ALASKA (BNO NEWS) -- A powerful earthquake struck near an Alaskan island in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday evening, seismologists said, prompting a tsunami warning for local coastlines.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake at 6.09 p.m. local time (0309 GMT Friday) was centered about 39 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Amukta Island, a small uninhabited island between the Fox Islands and the Andreanof Islands in the Aleutian Islands. It struck about 29.1 miles (46.8 kilometers) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS said no damage or casualties were expected from the earthquake itself, as nearly all islands in the region are uninhabited. It said several hundred people may have felt light to moderate shaking, which would pose no threat.

However, the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of Alaska from Unimak Pass, which is 80 miles (128 kilometers) northeast of Dutch Harbor, to Amchitka Pass, which is 125 miles (201 kilometers) west of Adak.

"A tsunami warning means that all coastal residents in the warning area who are near the beach or in low-lying regions should move immediately inland to higher ground and away from all harbors and inlets including those sheltered directly from the sea," the tsunami warning center said in a bulletin. "Those feeling the earth shake, seeing unusual wave action, or the water level rising or receding may have only a few minutes before the tsunami arrival and should move immediately. Homes and small buildings are not designed to withstand tsunami impacts. Do not stay in these structures."

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there is no threat of a destructive, widespread tsunami based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. "However - earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers (62 miles) of the earthquake epicenter," it noted.

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UPDATE 1 -- Tsunami warning canceled following powerful quake off Alaskan island http://bit.ly/jkkuEU