Earthquake hits off the coast of Alaska

An earthquake has occurred off the coast of Alaska  

7.7-magnitude earthquake hits off Alaska coast 

A major 7.7-magnitude earthquake shook an area in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the US state of Alaska early today, the United States Geological Survey said. The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 0858 GMT, was located 102 km west of Craig, Alaska at a depth of nine km, according to the USGS. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no widespread threat of a tsunami at this time, but it issued a regional warning affecting the Alaskan coast near the epicentre.

The earthquake reading was based on the open-ended moment magnitude scale used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.

A similar 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Canada’s Queen Charlotte Islands, located just south of the current epicentre, last October. That quake did trigger a small Pacific tsunami which eventually reached the US state of Hawaii without causing any damage.

Source: Hindu Business Line