Tsunami Warning Issued For South Alaska After Earthquake

Large parts of southern Alaska and the Alaskan Peninsula have been put under a tsunami warning after a magnitude 7.9 earthquake rocked Alaska's Kodiak Island.

CHECK OUT CNN COVERAGE OF THE EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI BELOW:

The strong earthquake, recorded around 157 miles south east of Kodiak Island early on Tuesday morning, also temporarily led the remainder of the US' west coast to be placed under close observation.

Warnings sent by the US National Weather Service directly to mobile phones in Alaska warned: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."

Officials on Kodiak have warned residents to evacuate if they live in low-lying areas. The earthquake was reportedly felt hundreds of miles away in Alaska's largest city Anchorage.

According to the US' Geological Survey, the quake struck 256 km (157 miles) southeast of Chiniak, Alaska at a depth of 10 km at 0931 GMT on Tuesday morning.

The shallow depth of the epicentre of the earthquake is what led the US National Tsunami Warning Center to issue the tsunami warning. The tsunami watch for the rest of the US west coast has now been called off.

The latest estimate from the warning center, as of 12:27 GMT, is that the resultant tsunami will only be a foot high.

In a post on Facebook, the Kodiak Police Department told residents to remain at high ground until further notice, advising them they could shelter at the city's high school and park at the local library.

Kodiak Island, located off the south coast of Alaska, is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, covering an area slightly larger than that of Cyprus. The island had a population of 13,592 in the 2010 census.

Over six thousand people are believed to live in the city of Kodiak, one of seven communities on Kodiak Island and the island's main city. The city is home to six schools as well as a branch of the University of Alaska.

Kodiak is the hub of all commercial transportation between the island and the outside world with access available either by ferryboat on the Alaska Marine Highway or by local commercial airline.

Other settlements on Kodiak island include the villages of Akhiok, Old Harbor, Karluk, Larsen Bay, Port Lions, and an unorganized community near Cape Chiniak.

Topics: News, US News, Tsunami

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from the University of East Anglia with degrees in English Literature and Creative Writing before completing his NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. Chris has previously written for the independent culture magazine The Skinny, among other publications.

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