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Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
A Surge of Earthquakes in Alaska Is Raising Red Flags
A powerful offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami warning for communities along a 700-mile (1,100-kilometer) stretch of Alaska's southern coast on Wednesday, July 16. Fortunately, the wave never came, and ground shaking caused minimal damage, but another large quake could strike this area in the near future. Since 2020, five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 7.2 to 8.2 have struck the southern coast of Alaska. It's not unusual for seismic activity to occur in this part of the state, as it runs along an active tectonic plate boundary called the Aleutian subduction zone. Still, seeing five large quakes within close range of each other in just five years has captured the attention of seismologists like Michael West, Alaska's state seismologist and director of the Alaska Earthquake Center. West told Gizmodo that the southern coast appears to be experiencing an earthquake sequence. While it's possible that Wednesday's quake was the last in this sequence, it's also possible that more large earthquakes—or even one huge one—could strike within the next few years, he said. 'Five earthquakes is enough to be statistically significant,' West said. 'This area is clearly undergoing a period of strain release while other areas of this particular boundary are—at the moment—a bit more quiet.' Earthquakes occur when accumulated stress along the border between two converging tectonic plates suddenly releases, causing them to slip past each other. Sometimes, one earthquake is enough to relieve the stress on a particular section, but not always. It can take multiple quakes spanning several years to release a significant buildup of stress, which is probably happening on Alaska's southern coast. Wednesday's quake occurred southeast of Sand Point, a small town in the Aleutian Islands. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it resulted from strike-slip faulting—when two tectonic plates slip horizontally past each other—in the Aleutian subduction zone. Seismologists have been keeping a close eye on this part of the plate boundary since the 1980s, when they identified it as an area of accumulating tectonic stress, West said. It took another 40 years for that built-up stress to finally result in seismic activity. 'Starting in 2020, it was like, 'Okay, now it's time for this particular segment to do its thing,'' West said. It's fortunate—and 'remarkable'—that none of the large quakes that have struck this area since 2020 have produced a tsunami, he added. Seismologists know the Aleutian subduction zone is capable of triggering devastating, Pacific-wide tsunamis. In 1946, for example, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake in this plate boundary caused a tsunami that traveled all the way to the shores of Antarctica and killed more than 150 people in Hawaii. The epicenter of that quake was located just 100 miles away from that of Wednesday's quake, West said. The earthquake sequence currently unfolding in this part of the Aleutian subduction zone could lead to a few different scenarios, he explained. If Wednesday's quake released all the accumulated stress in this segment, seismic activity could stall out and remain quiet for decades. Alternatively, it could take several more magnitude 7 to 8 quakes—or a single magnitude 9—to release all the stress. 'The societal consequences are very, very different for those two different paths,' West said. Unlike the relatively inconsequential quakes Alaska's southern coast has experienced in the last five years, a magnitude 9 would be highly likely to produce a dangerous tsunami and damaging ground shaking. Fortunately, 'there are, and long have been, very strong preparedness efforts underway in these communities,' West said. 'Every community near here has been studied for its tsunami inundation potential.' That said, 'we can always do more education,' he added. 'We've always got training to do to help people understand how to use that information, and how to do it quickly. You don't have much time [during] events like this.'
UPI
17-07-2025
- Climate
- UPI
Magnitude 7.3 earthquake reported in southern Alaska
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Alaska on Wednesday about 54 miles south of Sand Point. Image by U.S. Geological Survey July 16 (UPI) -- A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Alaska on Wednesday and a tsunami warning was canceled two hours later for the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island. The quake struck at 12:37 p.m. local time at a depth of 12.5 miles about 54 miles south of Sand Point, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake was felt throughout the Alaska Peninsula and southern Alaska, the Alaska Earthquake Center said. Anchorage, the state's capital, is about 557 miles from the quake center. The Alaska Earthquake Center reported about 30 aftershocks in two hours after the earthquake. The largest one was magnitude 5.2. Dave Snider, a tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center, told KTUU-TV because it happened in shallow water they were "not expecting a large event." The National Weather Service in Anchorage, Alaska, first issued a tsunami warning right after the quake, then it was downgraded and lifed at 2:43 p.m. Warnings were sounded in Sand Point, Cold Bay and Kodiak. The Kodiak Emergency Operations Center reported a 6-inch wave that was confirmed by the U.S. Coast Guard. State Seismologist Michael West told KTUU-TV that activity is common after an earthquake and aftershocks can be expected in the "coming days, weeks and even months." The area is part of Pacific "Ring of Fire." "This is the fifth earthquake exceeding magnitude 7.0 in a very small stretch of the Aleutians, just a couple hundred kilometers, since 2020," West said. "Clearly, something is going on."
San Francisco Chronicle
16-07-2025
- Climate
- San Francisco Chronicle
Officials downgrade Alaska tsunami warning after 7.3 magnitude earthquake
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Communities in areas along a 700-mile (1,127-km) stretch of Alaska's southern coast ordered residents to higher ground after a powerful earthquake Wednesday, but officials quickly downgraded a tsunami warning for the region. There were no immediate reports of significant damage. The earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, struck at 12:37 p.m. local time south of Sand Point, a community of about 600 people on Popof Island, in the Aleutian chain, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. The first waves were projected to land there, 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,' division spokesperson Jeremy Zidek said. The quake was felt as far away as Anchorage, almost 600 miles (966 km) to the northeast. The National Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for an area stretching from about 40 miles (64.4 km) southwest of Homer to Unimak Pass, a distance of about 700 miles (1,126 kilometers). Among the larger communities in the area is Kodiak, with a population of about 5,200. The warning was downgraded to an advisory about an hour later, and canceled just before 2:45 p.m. In Unalaska, a fishing community of about 4,100, officials urged people in possible inundation zones to move at least 50 feet above sea level or 1 mile (1.6 km) inland. In King Cove, which has about 870 residents on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, officials sent an alert calling on those in the coastal area to move to higher ground. The National Weather Service said in posts on social media that there was no tsunami threat for other U.S. and Canadian Pacific coasts in North America, including Washington, Oregon and California. Alaska's southern coast is earthquake-prone, and Wednesday's was the fifth in roughly the same area since 2020 exceeding magnitude 7, state seismologist Michael West said. 'Something's moving in this area,' he said. 'I would not call this an isolated earthquake. It appears to be part of a larger sequence spanning the last several years.' That has the attention of seismologists, he said. 'This area has been and remains capable of larger earthquakes and earthquakes capable of significant tsunami damage,' he said.
Global News
04-07-2025
- Health
- Global News
Research on gene therapy for rare inherited disease reduces costly, regular treatment
A researcher says an experimental gene therapy for a rare inherited disorder is saving almost as much money for the treatment of five patients as the study itself costs. The early-stage study published last year found that three of the men being treated for Fabry disease were able to stop using enzyme-replacement therapy — which costs about $300,000 annually — once they started on the 'one-time' gene therapy. Dr. Michael West, a co-author and kidney specialist in Halifax, says the overall savings have been $3.7 million, against research costs to date of about $4 million — which was largely provided by the federal Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Fabry disease is a rare disorder that leaves the body unable to produce the correct version of an enzyme that breaks down fatty materials — leading to major damage to vital organs and shortened lifespans. Some people suffer various symptoms including pain in their hands and feet, intestinal problems and chronic fatigue. Story continues below advertisement The gene therapy uses the stem cells taken from a patient's bone marrow to deliver a replacement copy of the faulty gene. The research team wrote in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Medicine last year that one of the men with advanced kidney disease saw his condition stabilize, and the researchers also found that none of the men had major events such as heart attacks or kidney failure caused by Fabry over the last five years, West said. 'These patients are still producing more of the needed enzymes than they did prior to the gene therapy,' said the 72-year-old physician, who works at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax and is a professor at Dalhousie University. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy West said in other instances of gene therapy there's been cases of severe side effects from procedures, including the development of various forms of cancer. However, West said that since the men received their gene therapy for Fabry between 2016 and 2018, there has been just two instances of side effects, neither of which were a direct result of the therapy itself. Rather, in one case, a chemotherapy drug used to 'make space' in bone marrow for grafting in modified cells caused a man's white blood cell count to fall. He was treated with antibiotics for a potential infection and recovered, West said. In a second case, a man developed a large bruise on his leg, which the researchers believe was due to possible side effects of the chemotherapy drug. Story continues below advertisement West said that while the research needs to go to larger-scale studies before it becomes conventional treatment, he believes it's worth pursuing due in part to the costs and 'the burden to patients' of the existing therapy. The specialist said that conventional enzyme-replacement therapy has to occur every two weeks, requiring approximately two hours for each treatment. Out of the roughly 540 people with Fabry in Canada, the researcher says about 100 are in Nova Scotia. It's believed the first person with the genetic mutation can be traced back to a French woman who immigrated to Lunenburg, N.S., in the colonial era, and her descendants carried the faulty gene through 18 generations that followed. 'Currently, there's some cases in Ontario, there's some in British Columbia, there's some in the U.K., some cases in Florida, but they all originated from here and they share the same mutation,' West said. West said the ultimate cost of gene therapy per patient has yet to be determined, as it first would have to be approved by the major regulatory agencies as an accepted treatment. But he said one option for inherited genetic diseases, where there is a relatively small group of patients, would be for government research agencies to develop and own the treatment themselves, and then earn fees to provide the treatments to other national health systems. Story continues below advertisement West said he realizes the sample size is small, and the goal is now to create a similar study with 25 to 30 patients, including women, over a two-to-three-year period. The senior director of research at Nova Scotia Health said in an email on Friday the project is offering new hope for people with Fabry, as it replaces lifelong treatments with a 'potential curative solution.' 'The impact has the potential to be both deeply personal and economically profound, saving lives, improving quality of life and saving millions in health-care costs. This is a perfect example of the importance of research,' wrote Dr. Ashley Hilchie. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2025.
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Research on gene therapy for rare inherited disease reduces costly, regular treatment
Dr. Michael West, a co-author and Dalhousie University researcher, is shown in this handout image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout HALIFAX — A researcher says the experimental use of gene therapy for a rare inherited disorder is saving almost as much money for treatment of five patients as the study itself costs. The early-stage study published last year found that three of the men being treated for Fabry disease were able to stop using enzyme-replacement therapy — which costs about $300,000 annually — once they started on the 'one-time' gene therapy. Dr. Michael West, a co-author and kidney specialist in Halifax, says the overall savings have been $3.7 million, against research costs to date of about $4 million — which was largely provided by the federal Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Fabry disease is a rare disorder that leaves the body unable to produce the correct version of an enzyme that breaks down fatty materials — leading to major damage to vital organs and shortened lifespans. Some people suffer various symptoms including pain in their hands and feet, intestinal problems and chronic fatigue. The gene therapy uses the stem cells taken from the men's bone marrow to deliver a replacement copy of the faulty gene. The research team wrote in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Medicine last year that one of the men with advanced kidney disease saw his condition stabilize, and the researchers also found that none of the men had major events such as heart attacks or kidney failure caused by Fabry over the last five years, West said. 'These patients are still producing more of the needed enzymes than they did prior to the gene therapy,' said the 72-year-old physician, who works at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax and is a professor at Dalhousie University. West said in other instances of gene therapy there's been instances of severe side effects from procedures, including the development of various forms of cancer. However, West said since the men received their gene therapy for Fabry between 2016 and 2018, there has been just two instances of side effects, neither of which were a direct result of the therapy itself. Rather, in one case, a chemotherapy drug used to 'make space' in bone marrow for grafting in modified cells caused a man's white blood cell count to fall. He was treated with antibiotics for a potential infection and recovered, West said. In a second case, a man developed a large bruise in his leg, which the researchers believe was due to possible side effects of the chemotherapy drug. West said while the research needs to go to larger-scale studies before it becomes conventional treatment, he believes it's worth pursuing due in part to the costs and 'the burden to patients' of the existing therapy. The specialist said that conventional enzyme-replacement therapy has to occur every two weeks, requiring approximately two hours for each treatment. Out of the roughly 540 people with Fabry in Canada, the researcher says about 100 are in Nova Scotia. It's believed the first person with the genetic mutation can be traced back to a French woman who immigrated to Lunenburg, N.S., in the colonial era, and her descendants carried the faulty gene through 18 generations that followed. 'Currently, there's some cases in Ontario, there's some in British Columbia, there's some in the U.K., some cases in Florida, but they all originated from here and they share the same mutation,' West said. West said the ultimate cost of gene therapy per patient has yet to be determined, as it first would have to be approved by the major regulatory agencies as an accepted treatment. But he said one option for inherited genetic diseases, where there is a relatively small group of patients, would be for government research agencies to develop and own the treatment themselves, and then earn fees to provide the treatments to other national health systems. West said he realizes the sample size is small, and the goal is now to create a similar study with 25 to 30 patients, including women, over a two- to three-year period. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2025. By Michael Tutton
