Nov. 30 (UPI) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 shook Alaska on Friday and was followed by an emergency alert for a tsunami warning.
The quake was first felt at about 8:30 a.m. in south-central Alaska.
Several aftershocks of significant but diminishing strength were also felt. The earthquake’s center was about 10 miles north-northwest of Anchorage, the Alaska Earthquake Center reported, but shaking was reported in the Fairbanks area. The Anchorage airport closed on Friday after some damage was observed, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was of 6.6 magnitude. The National Weather Service called it a 7.0-magnitude quake. The Alaska Earthquake Center in Fairbanks initially rated it a 6.6-magnitude earthquake but later upgraded it to 7.0.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System, whose alert covers the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island and the southern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, listed the earthquake as 7.2 on the Richter scale. It added there was danger of a tsunami on the coast, and instructed people there to go to higher ground.
