Tsunami sirens were going off in Alaska Tuesday morning as the entire coast of Alaska and parts of the coast of Canada were under a tsunami warning after a 7.9 earthquake struck 175 miles southeast of Kodiak. However, the warning has now been canceled.
- Local police warn people to go to higher ground
- Quake was initially reported to be 8.2 by USGS
- Warning has been canceled
Tsunami.gov is listing the earthquake as 7.9 and has stated that the warning and the advisory have been canceled.
Initially, the USGS said the earthquake was a magnitude 8.2. That prompted the tsunami warning for coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia, while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.
At about 6:30 a.m. EST, the Kodiak Police Department said harbor police were reporting water rescinding, which is typically not a good sign in a tsunami warning.
Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak Police Department told 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 Kodiak Police Department posted that harbor officers are reporting that water is receding.
People are evacuating to higher ground in Kodiak.
#akearthquake evacuating kodiak pic.twitter.com/Vlf0md3Qxz
— Jupiter (@Jupiter00000) January 23, 2018
Just evacuated after a 8.2M earthquake off the coast of Kodiak! Everyone stay safe!!! @cnnbrk @ABC pic.twitter.com/9huqsZgqom
— Olivia Apitz (@olivia_apitzz) January 23, 2018
The people in the above tweet did find their dog.
People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage.
Tsunami watch in effect for coastal areas of Washington & Oregon. First waves may reach Neah Bay by 455 AM PST. Further updates can be found at https://t.co/2WYSMKl5py or NOAA weather radio. This is the result of an estimated M8.0 quake 175mi SE Kodiak City, Alaska. #wawx #orwx
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 23, 2018
TSUNAMI WARNING 1: See https://t.co/npoUHxWBas for alert areas. M8.0 175mi SE Kodiak City, Alaska 0032AKST Jan 23:
— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 23, 2018
#NTWC
OKAY THIS WOKE ME UP NOW IM SCARED #Alaska #Tsunami pic.twitter.com/OD0a1P97ED
— ∞ (@karamelsroyalty) January 23, 2018
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 advisory remained in effect for a small part of the state. Watches were canceled for Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. Officials in Japan also said there was no tsunami threat there.
Check back for updates.
The Associated Press has contributed to this story.