Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Hits Alaska

The quake in Alaska that wakened residents of the south-central portion of that state in the early hours of Sunday morning has been upgraded back to a 7.1 magnitude (7.1M).

The Alaskan quake hit at about 2:30 a.m. PT and was centred 83 kilometres east of Anchor Point and 250 kilometres southwest of Anchorage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. However, at magnitude 7.1 it is the largest intermediate-depth quake recorded beneath Cook Inlet since the regional seismic network was established in late 1960s.

The Alaska Earthquake Center says preliminary reports put the latest aftershock at a magnitude-4.7.

Red Cross said it has sent a team of staff and volunteers to the Kenai Peninsula to help families of up to 60 members who evacuated their homes. The other two were fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters determined it was safe enough from gas for them to enter.

Twitter users have reported that they felt the earth shaking, but so far there have been no official reports of injuries or victims, reported the CNN.

The quake was felt as far away as Whitehorse, the capital of Canada’s Yukon Territory more than 600 miles (966 km) west of Anchorage, according to the USGS. The Homer Electric Association reported on its website that about 4,800 customers were without power early Sunday in the Kenai Peninsula.

Also 17 earthquakes of M 6 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the January 24, 2016 quake, the largest being an M 7.0 aftershock of the Great Alaska natural disaster in July 1965.

Later, he was driving to his mother’s home when he came across a stretch of road that was damaged in the quake. The aftershocks of this quake will probably continue to felt for weeks.

“Residents smelled gas so police and fire evacuated residents in surrounding homes”, Sandahl told NBC News.

But the police in the areas said that there were no reports of damage due to the incident. All firefighters and gas utility workers were accounted for, and there were no reports of injuries.

The possibility of a gas leak led to the evacuation of more than a dozen homes in Kenai.

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