UPDATE 3 -- Strong earthquake prompts brief tsunami warning in Alaska

[News_Editor]

UPDATE 3 -- Strong earthquake prompts brief tsunami warning in Alaska

2011-09-02 20:47:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake in the Pacific Ocean on early Friday morning prompted a brief tsunami warning for Alaska's Aleutian Islands, officials said. There were no reports of actual waves or casualties.

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake at 1.55 a.m. local time (1055 GMT) was centered about 27 miles (45 kilometers) southwest of Amukta Island, a small uninhabited island between the Fox Islands and the Andreanof Islands in the Aleutian Islands. It struck about 22.1 miles (35.5 kilometers) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS estimated that several hundred people may have felt very light shaking on nearby islands, but there were no reports of damage or casualties as the region is mostly uninhabited. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center (AEIC) measured the earthquake at a much lower 6.2 magnitude.

Because the earthquake was initially measured at 7.1 on the Richter scale, the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas of Alaska from Unimak Pass to Amchitka Pass. Unimak Pass is 80 miles (128 kilometers) northeast of the Dutch Harbor, while Amchitka Pass is 125 miles (201 kilometers) west of Adak.

Residents in Atka, a town on the east side of Atka Island, briefly evacuated to higher ground when the tsunami warning was issued. When the warning was canceled an hour later, with no tsunami waves observed, residents returned home.

"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 West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement. "Local authorities can assume all clear upon receipt of this message."

Four light aftershocks struck the region in the first few hours after the earthquake, with the strongest measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale. The others had magnitudes of 4.5, 4.5, and 4.3.

Earlier this year, on June 24, a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck 39 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Amukta Island, a small uninhabited island between the Fox Islands and the Andreanof Islands in the Aleutian Islands. There were no casualties and no tsunamis were observed.

The sparsely populated region of Alaska, which sits on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', 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.

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