Residents throughout south-central Alaska were jolted from their sleep with a huge jolt at 1:30 am that lasted for 30-45 seconds. The quake was initially reported as not one, but two shakers, generated within three seconds of each other and five miles apart.

The reported 6.4 and 7.1 quakes, later reported by the USGS as a single 7.1 magnitude quake, was felt as far south as Juneau, and as far north as Fairbanks. The shaker knocked items from walls and shelves throughout the Cook Inlet region. Power outages affecting approximately 4,000 residents has been reported in Anchorage.

The shaker occurred 50 miles east of Old Illiamna, initially reported, the first was generated at a depth of 88.2 miles, while the second, stronger quake occurred at a depth of 65.2 mi according to the USGS. This was later amended to be a single quake generated at a depth of 79.4 miles.

The Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer issued a statement minutes after the quake, saying “Based on the depth of the earthquake, a tsunami is not expected.” They went on to say that no other information on the event would be posted.

By Sunday mid-morning, there have been at least 100 aftershocks, 46 have measured a magnitude of 2.5 or more in the immediate vicinity of the initial earthquake. Further aftershocks can be expected for days and even weeks. [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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