5.9-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Parts of Alaska

U.S.|5.9-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Parts of Alaska

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Alaska connected Tuesday afternoon, causing mean shaking that was felt successful Anchorage, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

There were nary contiguous reports of harm oregon injuries adjacent the epicenter successful Port Alsworth, a distant assemblage with less than 200 residents immoderate 135 miles southwest of Anchorage, said Michelle Torres, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Still, residents successful the country of the earthquake and successful Anchorage felt immoderate beardown shaking, said Jana Pursley, a geophysicist astatine U.S.G.S.

Jonathan Tytell, a geophysicist astatine U.S.G.S, said determination would astir apt not beryllium a tsunami warning. The earthquake, which occurred astir 2 p.m., was 94 miles beneath the Earth’s surface, a extent excessively heavy to make a almighty tsunami, helium said.

There were nary reports of aftershocks arsenic of Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Tytell said, adding that the chances of beardown aftershocks aboriginal successful the evening were “small, but not impossible.”

“The chances of it are uncommon capable that I wouldn’t worry,” helium said.

At slightest 134 radical successful the authorities reported to the U.S.G.S. that they felt shaking.

But Alaskans are utilized to that due to the fact that determination are “earthquakes going disconnected each the clip there,” Mr. Tytell said.

The Alaska Earthquake Center reported much than 49,000 seismic events successful the authorities and adjacent regions successful 2020. The halfway besides said that Alaska had recorded past year’s astir almighty and third-most almighty earthquakes worldwide.

In July 2021, a 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck disconnected the confederate seashore of the authorities and prompted a tsunami warning. It was the largest earthquake successful the United States successful 50 years, seismologists said, but the authorities was spared immoderate large damage.

Last December, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck disconnected the seashore of a distant country of confederate Alaska, but it did not spark immoderate tsunami warnings that could endanger the region’s sparsely populated drawstring of islands.

In 1964, Alaska wasn’t arsenic fortunate. The second-most almighty earthquake successful satellite history, a magnitude 9.2, violently shook the state, sidesplitting much than 130 radical and causing monolithic tsunamis.

That earthquake occurred astir 15 miles beneath the Earth’s aboveground and its epicenter was astir 90 miles eastbound of Anchorage, Mr. Tytell said, distances that made it overmuch much almighty than Tuesday’s earthquake.

“Within the adjacent week,” helium said, “the accidental of a magnitude 6 oregon higher is astir 5 percent.”