Residents of the Alaskan coast, from Sand Point to Kodiak, rushed to higher lands and motorboats in deeper water Monday afternoon, after a 75 magnitude earthquakes struck near Sand Point triggered tsunami warning
Big waves did not appear, but life in communities was disrupted by the emergency The national weather service downgraded warming to a late afternoon advisory
Raynelle Gardner, who works at Sand Point School, said residents felt the shock of the first earthquake The school is the community’s evacuation point after the tsunami
« Yes, there are a lot of people going in and out of here right now, » Gardner said a few minutes before a wave was expected Some students were still in class but many parents came to pick up their children
The National Tsunami Warning Center reported that a small tsunami, measured at two feet, reached Sand Point at 2:25 a.m.m The waves that followed in other communities were just as small
Austin Roof teaches at the school and is also the general manager of the community radio station, KSTP-AM
“Most of the community has been evacuated to the heights so it’s hard to tell if a tsunami has occurred,” Roof said “The last earthquake was a small one foot tsunami that happened, so it would have been really hard to tell if it had happened from where we were «
Roof said it was not the first time community members have participated in the exercise this year
“I guess since the last earthquake we are all ready for this,” he said “So that’s what it is”
Maggie Wall, who works at KMXT in Kodiak, said she felt the earthquake from her home about 12 miles outside of town and entered as the new tsunami warning sirens of the city are triggered
Upon entering, Wall said he saw smaller boats heading for deeper water, although many remained in the harbor
She said most people were heading to higher ground near the town’s high school When she arrived it was « a lot of people »
She was hesitant to describe the evacuation as routine, but Wall said the residents of Kodiak were familiar with the drill
“We know to grab our important stuff and grab the dog and whatever it takes and where to go,” she said “We’ve been through it We’ve had a lot of racing training «
According to reports submitted by residents to the USGS, the earthquake was felt from Unalaska to the Kenai Peninsula Central Alaska earthquake reported ten aftershocks in the first hour after the quake , of which seven were magnitude 5 or greater The largest was magnitude 59 at 1:45 pm
Earthquake in Alaska, Alaska, earthquake, tsunami warning, tsunami
News from the world – US – 7Magnitude 5 earthquake triggers tsunami warning in the Aleutians in Kenai Peninsula – Alaska Public Media
