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Los Angeles, Oct. 20, 2020 (AFP) – A 7.5-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Alaska today triggered small tsunami waves, according to U.S. officials, who have reported no casualties or damage.
The national agency for the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has lowered the alert level to less severe, indicating that affected areas “should not expect widespread flooding.”
Residents on alert in the area, which included much of the southern coast of this remote United States, were evacuated and taken to higher altitude regions.
Waves of 60 cm were recorded in the small town near Sand Point, 100 km from the epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 40 km.
The hazard zone stretched hundreds of miles northeast to Cook’s Cove, but did not reach Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.
The earthquake was followed by at least four aftershocks, of magnitude 5 or greater.
Alaska is located in the Pacific Circle of Fire, which has seismic activity.
The state was hit by an earthquake measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale in March 1964, the strongest ever recorded in North America.
The earthquake devastated Anchorage and triggered a tsunami that struck the Gulf of Alaska, the west coast of the United States and Hawaii. More than 250 people died.
