WASHINGTON: A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands late Thursday, but US officials did not issue a tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The quake on the Fox Islands -- 101 miles (163 km) east of the tiny fishing port of Atka -- stuck at 6:09 pm local time (0309 GMT), the US Geological Survey said in a statement.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Hawaii, said there was "no current warning, watch, or advisory" after the quake, which struck more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west of the major Alaskan city of Anchorage.
Tsunami warning cancelled for Alaska
June 24, 2011 - 3:14PM
A local tsunami warning for coastal areas of Alaska has been cancelled.
The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center posted a tsunami warning for certain coastal areas of Alaska after a major earthquake struck off the Aleutian Islands on Thursday night (Friday afternoon AEST), but cancelled the warning about 8.30pm Alaskan time (1430 AEST).
The warning had covered an area from 130 kilometres northeast of Dutch Harbor to about 200 kilometres west of Adak.
In Dutch Harbor, longshoreman Jim Paulin said warning sirens caused hundreds of people to begin climbing up a nearby hill.
The US Geological Survey said the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Fox Islands - 163 kilometres east of the tiny fishing port of Atka - at 6.09pm local time on Thursday (1309 AEST Friday).
The Fox Islands are an eastern group of the Aleutian Islands, off southwestern Alaska.
The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the quake was felt through the central Aleutians and as far east as Dutch Harbor and Unalaska.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
© 2011 AFP
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