No tsunami from magnitude 6.5 Alaska earthquake
This July 19, 2004 photo released by the Alaska Volcano Observatory/U.S. Geological Survey shows the village of Atka on Atka Island, Alaska. Officials say a magnitude 7.0 earthquake has rocked Alaska's Aleutian Islands with a jet-like rumble that shook homes and sent residents scrambling for cover. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the major temblor at 8:25 a.m. Friday, local time. It was followed by multiple aftershocks, including one measuring magnitude 4.5. (AP Photo/Alaska Volcano Observatory/U.S. Geological Survey, Robert McGimsey)
ANCHORAGE >> A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Tuesday in waters off Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands region, where a 7.0 quake hit last week.
The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said there was no danger of a tsunami from the afternoon quake.
It was centered about 50 miles south-southwest of the tiny community of Atka, Alaska, at a depth of about 24 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Earthquakes, even large ones, are common in the area, scientists say.
Dozens of aftershocks have been recorded since Friday’s larger quake.
There have been no reports of damage or injuries.
“We’re seeing the quakes in pretty much the same area,” said Rafael Abreu, a geophysicist with the USGS’s National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. “I could definitely consider it an aftershock.”
Several hours after Tuesday’s quake, Abreu said the USGS’ earthquake website had received no reports from anyone who felt it.
Last Friday’s 7.0 quake was felt in Atka, an Aleut community of 64 people, and the larger Aleutian town of Adak, where 320 people live.
Abreu said the Alaska quake was not connected to several large earthquakes recorded earlier Tuesday off British Columbia, Canada.
The largest of those quakes was a magnitude 6.0 and was centered nearly 120 miles off Bella Bella on British Columbia’s northern coast. Several aftershocks were recorded, including one measuring magnitude 5.9.
Those quakes did not generate a tsunami and there have been no damage reports.
The area off British Columbia is also a common site for earthquakes, Abreu said, but “the fact that they’re going on at pretty much the same time seems to be random, coincidence more than anything else.”
