Tsunami concerns ease following 7.2 earthquake off Alaska Peninsula

Update: This story has been updated with a new article: 7.2 earthquake off Alaska Peninsula triggers brief tsunami warning, sending some residents to higher ground

Update, 12:55 a.m. Sunday: The tsunami advisory issued in the aftermath of Saturday’s 7.2 earthquake off the Alaska Peninsula has now been canceled.

The National Tsunami Warning Center said in an update that some locations may see small changes to sea level and local officials will determine whether people can re-occupy hazard areas, but a tsunami no longer poses a threat.

Update, 12:30 a.m. Sunday: A tsunami warning issued in the aftermath of a strong earthquake off the Alaska Peninsula on Saturday night has been downgraded to an advisory.

The advisory remained in effect from Chignik Bay off the Alaska Peninsula to Unimak Pass. The initial warning had originally applied to a broader swath of coastline from the Aleutians to the mouth of Cook Inlet.

The National Weather Service said Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula were not expected to see impacts from the tsunami advisory.

Seismologists have also revised the magnitude of the earthquake down from 7.4 to 7.2 after reviewing the temblor.

Original story:

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake off the Alaska Peninsula on Saturday night led to a tsunami warning being issued for a broad swath of Alaska’s coastline from the Aleutians to the mouth of Cook Inlet.

The earthquake, at 10:48 p.m., was centered 65 miles south of Sand Point and occurred at a depth of 3.8 miles, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.

A tsunami warning was issued from Unimak Pass in the eastern Aleutians to Kennedy Entrance at the mouth of Cook Inlet off the Kenai Peninsula. Areas affected include Kodiak Island, the southern Kenai Peninsula and the Alaska Peninsula.

Cook Inlet communities, from Homer to Anchorage, were not under the tsunami warning, according to the National Weather Service and the Kenai Peninsula Fire & Emergency Information.

As in previous tsunami alerts for Alaska coastal regions, many people in the Anchorage area received phone alerts of the tsunami warning even though authorities said there was no danger.

The earthquake was felt through the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula as well as in the Cook Inlet region, according to the earthquake center.