A powerful earthquake that prompted tsunami warnings and evacuations Tuesday night caused serious shaking in some Alaska Peninsula communities but little damage. Now, the state seismologist says the quake itself might offer some insight into a scientific debate on earthquakes in the region.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake centered about 65 miles south of Perryville on the Alaska Peninsula prompted a series of tsunami warnings that stretched from the Aleutian Islands all the way to the western Kenai Peninsula. Sirens sounded in multiple communities into the night. The warnings sent Alaskans scrambling to higher ground in communities as widespread as Kodiak, Sand Point, Unalaska and Homer.
Jennifer Kalmakoff, 44, was on a four-wheeler ride with her daughter just outside Perryville when she watched a rockslide on an island across the water Tuesday night.