The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source: Fox News, AP
Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:24 PM
8.2 Earthquake Shakes Western Alaska Prompting Tsunami Warnings That Are Cancelled Mid-AM Tuesday
4 a.m.
The fire chief of a popular Alaska cruise ship port city says there was no panic as residents reacted to a tsunami warning triggered by an earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska.
Seward fire chief Eddie Athey praised his community for doing “the right thing” early Tuesday, calling it “a controlled evacuation” as people left for higher ground or drove along the only road out of the city.
Athey says the quake was gentle, and that it “felt like the washer was off balance.” He says he knows of no damage in the community 110 miles (180 kilometers) southeast of Anchorage.
He says the quake went on for up to 90 seconds — long enough that he thought “Boy, I hope this stops soon because it’s just getting worse.”
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3:10 a.m.
The National Tsunami Center has canceled a tsunami warning that was triggered by a powerful earthquake off the coast of Alaska.
Mickey Varnadao, a computer specialist with the warning center in Palmer, Alaska, said early Tuesday that an advisory remains in effect for parts of Alaska, from Kodiak Island to Prince William Sound.
Watches have been canceled for British Columbia in Canada, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. Officials in Japan say there is no tsunami threat there.
Varnadao says the agency canceled the alert after waves failed to show up in coastal Alaska communities.
The earthquake was recorded about 12:30 a.m. about 170 miles (270 kilometers) southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. It had a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 but has been downgraded to magnitude 7.9.
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2:45 a.m.
Larry LeDoux, superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, says schools were open as shelters and estimated there were about 500 people at the high school.
He described the atmosphere inside as calm, with people waiting for any updates.
He said sirens go off in the community every week, as a test to make sure they are working. He said the sirens were sounded for the early Tuesday tsunami warning.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck early Tuesday about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island.
A tsunami warning was issued for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.
2:30 a.m.
The city of Kodiak, Alaska, was projected to see the first wave at about 1:45 a.m., about an hour after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 prompted a tsunami warning.
About a half hour later, Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak Police Department said there had been no reports of a wave and nothing had been seen, yet.
However, officials were telling people to hold fast at evacuation centers until further notice. He said the town has several shelters above the 100-foot mark, and they were still encouraging people below that level to evacuate.
The earthquake woke Putney up out of a dead sleep, and he estimates it shook for at least 30 seconds.
The police had not received any reports of damage.
The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the quake was felt widely in several communities on the Kenai Peninsula and throughout southern Alaska, but it also had no immediate reports of damage.
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2:15 a.m.
An official in the state emergency operations center says there have been no reports of damage as the timeline for initial waves has passed after a tsunami warning was issued following an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck near Kodiak Island, Alaska.
Kerry Seifert, an emergency management specialist, says it is almost too soon to get damage reports as members of most communities could be seeking higher ground following the quake that struck recorded about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island early Tuesday morning.
A tsunami warning was issued for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.
Warnings from the National Weather Service sent to cellphones in Alaska warned: “Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland.”
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2 a.m.
Authorities in Kodiak, Alaska, are telling residents to move to higher ground after a strong earthquake struck nearby, prompting tsunami warning for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.
A dispatcher at the Kodiak police department answered a call from The Associated Press by saying, “If this about the tsunami, you need to get to higher ground immediately.”
The earthquake, initially reported as a magnitude 8.2, was recorded about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island early Tuesday morning. Warnings from the National Weather Service sent to cellphones in Alaska warned: “Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland.”
Kodiak officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas.
People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage.
