UPDATE 2 -- Powerful quake strikes Alaskan island, tsunami warning canceled

[News_Editor]

UPDATE 2 -- Powerful quake strikes Alaskan island, tsunami warning canceled

2011-06-24 11:56:42 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, briefly prompting a tsunami warning for local coastlines.

The 7.2-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 38.9 miles (62.6 kilometers) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center (AEIC) measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.6 on the Richter scale, significantly weaker than the USGS estimate. Seismological agencies often have different magnitudes during the first few hours after a major earthquake struck.

A seismologist at the USGS however said it did not expect to change its magnitude, although revisions are possible as more information comes in from stations around the world. "7.2, though, is a pretty good magnitude for now," he said.

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

Because initial readings put the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.4, the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center decided to issue a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of Alaska from Unimak Pass to Amchitka Pass. It was later canceled after no tsunamis were observed.

"No destructive tsunami has been recorded, and no tsunami danger exists along the coasts of the U.S. west coast states, Alaska, and British Columbia," the tsunami warning center said in a bulletin. "Local authorities can assume all clear upon receipt of this message."

Several minor aftershocks rattled the area in the hours after the powerful earthquake, and the USGS warned it would likely continue. "These areas tend to produce lots of aftershocks. As a general rule, they're usually smaller than the first shock," a seismologist said.

The sparsely populated region of Alaska is occasionally struck by powerful earthquakes. Most notably, an enormous 9.2-magnitude earthquake struck north of Prince William Sound in Alaska on March 27, 1964, unleashing a tsunami which killed at least 143 people.

And most recently, two strong earthquakes struck approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) east-southeast of Adak, an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group. The earthquakes, which measured 6.4 and 6.1 on the Richter scale, caused no damage.

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