7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Alaska's Aleutian Islands; Tsunami Warning Expired

Yahoo

17-07-2025

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Wednesday afternoon just south of the northern Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The epicenter was roughly 600 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. A tsunami warning was in effect for less than an hour, but has since expired with little signs of damage.
A small 0.2-foot tsunami was recorded at Sand Point, Alaska, but no other observations of a tsunami were made.
The first waves were projected to land near Popof Island in the Aleutian chain, but the state's emergency management division said an hour after the quake that it had received no reports of damage.
'We have seen other earthquakes in the area that have not generated significant tsunami waves, but we're treating it seriously and going through our procedures, making sure communities are notified so they can activate their evacuation procedures,' spokesman Jeremy Zidek said.
Officials in the community of King Cove, which has about 870 residents and is on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, sent an alert calling on those in the coastal area to move to higher ground. In Unalaska, a fishing community of about 4,100, officials also urged people to move at least 50 feet above sea level, 1 mile inland.
Sirens could be heard on Kodiak Island.
Damage from the earthquake is not expected, according to the USGS.
The probability of aftershocks within the next week is greater than 90% for a magnitude 5 earthquake or stronger.
Tsunami alerts have not been issued elsewhere in the United States or elsewhere in the Pacific.
The Aleutian Islands are known to be an earthquake hotspot due to their location at the boundary between the Pacific tectonic plate and North America Plate. Several 8.0 magnitude earthquakes have shaken the region since 1900.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.