Powerful quake off Alaska prompts tsunami fear

Powerful quake off Alaska prompts tsunami fear for N. American west coast

ANCHORAGE, Jan 23 - A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit the Gulf of Alaska in the early hours of Tuesday, prompting warnings of a possible tsunami down the west coast of North America.

Emergency sirens sounded in Kodiak, a town of 6,100 people on Alaska's Kodiak Island, one of the closest settlements to the epicenter.

"This is a tsunami warning. This is not a drill. Please get out to higher ground," said the announcer on local public radio station KMXT. "If you are on the flats, get up on one of the hills ... Just go high."

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

The quake, initially measured at magnitude 8.2, hit around 250 km (160 miles) southeast of Chiniak, Alaska at a depth of 25 km at 12:31 a.m. (0931 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Thankfully the warning has been canceled Alaska hit by 7.9 earthquake; tsunami warning canceled

Off topic, but tsunami is a cool word - both to speak and to write, lol.

Off topic, but tsunami is a cool word - both to speak and to write, lol.

A Japanese word originating in the 19th century that is derived from "tsu" - harbor and "nami" - wave. :lol2: