Alaska was rocked by a strong earthquake, no major harm or injury was reported.
The greatly strong U.S. earthquake in half a century left Alaska primarily unscathed, because of the isolated location and depth of the epicentre that resulted in no harm.
It was 10:15 p.m local time on Wednesday (0615 GMT Thursday) when the Chignik earthquake struck the Aleutians with a magnitude of -8.2. It was the strongest felt earthquake since an 8.7 quake split through the western Aleutian Islands in 1965.
There was no instantaneous news of injuries or damage to the property. Various Alaskan seaside populations departed following the shiver. Among them was Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, where sirens blared and residents were instructed to move to higher ground. But residents of affected populations were told they were still examining impacts after their late-night evacuations to higher ground.
The tribal government in the community near to the earthquake, Alec Philips of Native Village of Perryville said that stuff fell and they are pretty sure there must be some damage around but they haven’t verified.
The earthquake was at a depth of 20 miles (32 km), said the U.S. Geological Survey.
It knocked Alaska’s largest city about 65 miles I.e105 km southeast of Perryville, about 500 miles I.e., 800 km from Anchorage. The earthquake accelerated a tsunami warning and evacuations in various Alaska coastal populations. Those indications were later lifted. Small tsunami waves measuring under a foot (30cm) above the wave level were observed in Sand Point, King Cove, Old Harbor, Kodiak, Alitak Bay and Unalaska in the Alaska region, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center.
Powerful But Deep
The earthquake was strong but it was deep as well, mentioning in his statement an employee, Holtkamp from the Alaska Earthquake Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks told that even if you were at the highest point the earthquake will still be 30 kilometres away as it was so deep. The earthquake struck along a subduction region where the Pacific plate jumps under the North American plate, Holtkamp explained. That specific area of the subduction region, named the Aleutian megathrust, is a seismic hotspot, with numerous earthquakes each year, as told according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. He asserted that the earthquake was probably related to another strong earthquake in the exact area nearly exactly a year ago, the Magnitude-7.6 Simeon of Island Earthquake of July 21, 2020, which hit about 45 miles (72 km) away. That quake seems to have enabled the Alaska quake, Holtkamp said, a natural phenomenon when a large event strikes an important fault or subduction zone, he said. He cited, When that emerges next to a neighbourhood that’s however locked, it stimulates the strain within the adjacent region. “It makes it more likely that something will happen adjacent.” In Sand Point, which was also removed on the night of the earthquake, morning inspections indicated no road, harbour or landing damage, said Jordan Keeler, manager for the community of about 1,300 people. The quake was headed by over 25 aftershocks in the area, with two around magnitude 6.0., according to the USGS. The temblor was the seventh-largest in the U.S. record, connected with another Alaskan tremor from 1938, according to USGS data.