Large earthquake hits remote Alaska waters, no tsunami seen

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Large earthquake hits remote Alaska waters, no tsunami seen

By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE | Fri Aug 30, 2013 2:17pm EDT

(Reuters) - A large earthquake of 7.0 magnitude struck the ocean 57 miles off the remote Alaska island of Adak early Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were no initial reports of damage, and the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami watch, warning or advisory in effect.

"At this point, we've seen no ocean-surface disturbance," said Bill Knight, a scientist at the tsunami warning center in Palmer, Alaska. While no tsunami was expected, he said scientists were still monitoring the area for any earthquake-induced waves.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/30/us-usa-quake-alaska-idUSBRE97T0QL20130830

[gopiscrap]

1. Hope everybody stays ok

I remember reading about the resulting coastal flooding after that huge earthquake in the 60's

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Adak is way out in the middle of nowhere.

The '64 quake was centered in Southcentral Alaska, the main population area of the state, and was devastating to Anchorage, Seward, Valdez and other towns in the area. The tsunami killed people in Northern California. As far as I know, it is still historically the strongest earthquake to strike North America and the second largest in recorded history anywhere, a 9.2. Had it struck in a major population area, thousands would have died. It lasted over five minutes.

I didn't live in Alaska then, but I know a lot of people who did. It was a scary, scary ride. Wikipedia has a good article about it.

[gopiscrap]

4. Wow

I remember hearing about it as a little child while we were living in Frankfurt, Germany. Did folks in Anchorage get killed?

[Blue_In_AK]

5. I think only four people died in Anchorage

although a lot of people lost their homes. Most of the deaths were tsunami related, in and around Prince William Sound. The tsunami wave that struck Valdez was 220 feet high. The whole town had to be moved afterwards.

Remarkably, there were only 131 deaths, 115 in Alaska and 16 in Washington and California.

[damnedifIknow]

2. Pop goes a few methane hydrates