6 days ago
Alaska Resident Captures Terrifying Moment Home Shakes Amid Earthquake
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A video capturing a home rattling during an earthquake in Alaska has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared by @nicoledemoski and has amassed over 741,000 views since it was posted on Thursday.
According to text overlaid on the video, the footage was captured on July 16 in the city of King Cove, around 55 miles south of the city of Sand Point in southern Alaska.
The clip features a view of a living room setting, with furniture and other items shown to be shaking, including a television mounted on a wall. What appears to be the voice of a child is heard in the background, sounding startled, while another voice says "It's okay...I got you."
"Oh my god," the voice later says before the clip cuts to a view of an open field with an aircraft flying past amid sirens in the background.
A caption shared with the post says: "7.3 Earthquake, tsunami evacuation, aftershocks... what a day! It's been downgraded from warning to advisory."
According to a later video shared by the TikToker, there was no damage to their home or their community. "I'm relieved it wasn't worse," the poster wrote in a caption overlaid on the video.
The magnitude 7.3 earthquake took place on Wednesday at 12:37 p.m. local time off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula region, notes the Alaska Earthquake Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The latest earthquake, which struck 55 miles south of Sand Point, was felt over a broad region, extending as far as Anchorage and Juneau, where light shaking was reported. Ground shaking was the strongest in Sand Point, with one resident reporting "objects flying out of the pantry and off of shelves." The shaking was described as mild rolling in the city of Homer, with lamps and plants swaying, according to the earthquake center.
"We have not received reports of significant damage in the communities nearest to the epicenter," the center said.
A tsunami warning was issued by the National Tsunami Warning Center immediately following the earthquake, before it was downgraded to an advisory around an hour later.
Tsunami evacuations were also issued by several communities, including Sand Point, King Cove, Kodiak, Old Harbor, Homer, Seward, and Unalaska. "If an impactful wave had been generated during this event, those communities closest to the epicenter would have had minutes to evacuate," the earthquake center noted.
Both the latest earthquake and the previous one in 2023 happened within the previous aftershock zone of the July 2020 M7.8 Simeonof Earthquake that occurred in the same region.
"Aftershocks are likely to persist in the foreseeable future," the center warned, noting that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Aftershock Forecast shows that "at least one magnitude 6 or greater is possible in the next week, and smaller earthquakes are highly likely to continue."
The Alaska–Aleutian Megathrust region represents an area of increased seismic activity, the center notes, having experienced five magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes over the past five years.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
An aerial view over Sand Point, Alaska.
An aerial view over Sand Point, Alaska.
Andy Varner/City of Sand Point via AP
Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
