Thousand of Americans along Alaska’s coastline raced to higher ground Wednesday, abandoning their homes after a major earthquake triggered a tsunami warning.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected a 7.3 magnitude at approximately 12:38pm local time (4:30pm ET), centered in the Pacific Ocean just south of the Alaska Peninsula near the Shumagin Islands, southeast of Sand Point.
Sirens wailed and emergency alerts lit up phones across the region, warning residents across a vast stretch of southwestern Alaska, from Kennedy Entrance near Homer to Unimak Pass near Unalaska, to evacuate immediately.
Officials warned of potential tsunami impacts on Kodiak Island, the Alaska Peninsula, and parts of the eastern Aleutian Islands, with some areas expected to be hit first.
Dramatic images showed an eerily bare shoreline, the ocean having suddenly vanished, a chilling sign that a tsunami could be moments away.
David Snider, a tsunami warning coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told KTUU that a tsunami had been confirmed more than an hour after the quake, but it was only two inches at Sand Point.
‘The good news is this event happened in shallow water,’ Snider said. ‘We’re not expecting to see a large inundation of water coming up on shore.’
The tsunami could hit coastal areas of southwestern Alaska, including communities from Kennedy Entrance near Homer to Unimak Pass near Unalaska, with potential impact on Kodiak Island, the Alaska Peninsula and parts of the eastern Aleutian Islands
The US Tsunami Center said the warning was in effect from about 40 miles southwest of Homer (pictured) to Unimak Pass, a distance of about 700 miles.
The initial alert issued a full tsunami warning, but the threat was downgraded to a tsunami advisory roughly 90 minutes after the 7.3 magnitude quake struck.
Locals have been warned that unusual waves continuing for about 24 hours, and top stay cautious on Thursday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a statement confirming there was no tsunami threat to Oregon, Washington or other US states outside Alaska.
However, the agency is urged Alaskans to move out of the water, off the beach and away from harbors, marinas, breakwaters, bays and inlets as a precaution.
A major 7.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Alaska , triggering a tsunami alert for thousands of residents. Pictured is Sand Point, which is under the alert
‘If you feel a strong earthquake or extended ground rolling, take immediate protective actions such as moving inland and/or uphill, preferably by foot,’ the agency added.
The NTWC said the advisory covers an area stretching approximately 700 miles, from about 40 miles southwest of Homer to Unimak Pass, near the eastern Aleutian Islands.
Kodiak, with a population of around 5,200, is one of the largest communities within the advisory zone.
In King Cove, a coastal town of about 870 residents on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, local officials issued an alert urging people in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.
A resident of Seward, a port city in southern Alaska, shared a video on X, saying she just returned to the state after 25 years and is now facing a tsunami.
The footage shows her and a group of people walking away from the coast, up to high ground.
‘Just pray we don’t get waved,’ she said before ending the video.
The last time Alaska experienced an earthquake of similar magnitude was on June 10, 1996, when a magnitude 7.2 quake struck near the Andreanof Islands in the Aleutian chain.
The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Alaska, and in US history, was the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake, which registered a magnitude of 9.2.
That massive quake struck near Prince William Sound and was felt as far away as Seattle.
It also generated devastating tsunamis that caused widespread damage along coastlines in Alaska, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and even as far as Japan.
