Monthly Archives: September 2011

Alaska Earthquake 2011: Quake Strikes Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands Region

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A 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean prompted a brief tsunami warning early Friday morning for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

The warning was canceled after only a small wave was recorded in the community of Atka, Alaska.

“In Atka, they had a little bump of a wave, but nothing of any kind of a destructive power. Just a wave,” said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security.

The earthquake struck at about 2:55 a.m. AKDT, and there were no initial reports of injuries or damage, according to the United States Geological Survey.

 The tsunami warning was issued for coastal areas of Alaska from Unimak Pass to Amchitka Pass, remote and not heavily populated areas.

Residents were evacuating to higher ground in Atka but then stopped at the cancellation, Zidek said.

A woman who answered the phone at the city hall in Unalaska, Alaska, but declined to give her name said people at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, were awakened by sirens.

“We have some people on high ground, but not a lot,” she said before the warning was canceled. “Sirens woke us all up – everybody’s moving.”

The state emergency response center was staffed early Friday morning.

The preliminary measurement was that it was a 7.1-magnitude quake, but the USGS later put the official size at 6.8.

In June, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 in the same area of the Aleutians also prompted a tsunami warning.

Brief Tsunami Warning After Quake Strikes Alaska

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A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska early Friday morning, the USGS reported, leading to a brief tsunami warning for parts of the Aleutian Islands.

The warning was canceled after only a small wave was recorded in the community of Atka, Alaska.

“In Atka, they had a little bump of a wave, but nothing of any kind of a destructive power. Just a wave,” said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security.

Residents were evacuating to higher ground in Atka but then stopped at the cancellation, Zidek said.

The areas are very remote and not heavily populated, according to Jessica Sigala, geophysicist with the USGS in Golden, Colorado.

The USGS says the earthquake struck in the waters at about 6:55 a.m. EDT (1055 GMT), over 1,000 miles from Anchorage, and there were no initial reports of injuries or damage.

A woman who answered the phone at the city hall in Unalaska, a city in the Aleutians, but declined to give her name said people at Dutch Harbor were awakened by sirens.

“We have some people on high ground, but not a lot,” she told the Associated Press. “Sirens woke us all up — everybody’s moving.”

The state emergency response center was being staffed early Friday morning.

In June, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 in the same area of the Aleutians also prompted a tsunami warning.

7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Alaska

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A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Friday in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, prompting a brief tsunami warning for a portion of Alaska’s coast.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck in the waters at about 6:55 a.m. ET. There were no reports of injuries or damage, according to Alaska’s KTUU.com.

The tsunami warning was in effect for coastal areas of Alaska from Unimak Pass to Amchitka Pass. It was canceled about an hour later, USGS confirmed to NBC News.

The areas are very remote and not heavily populated, according to Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the USGS in Golden, Colo.

The quake struck 107 miles southeast of Atka, Alaska, at a depth of 22.1 miles.

This is the second large earthquake in the Aleutian Chain this summer. In June, a 7.2 magnitude quake in the same area also prompted a short tsunami warning, according to KTUU.