Tsunami Warnings Issued After 8.2 Quake Hits Alaska

A tsunami warning was issued for parts of Alaska after a large earthquake struck the peninsula. The US Geological Survey said the quake was magnitude 8.2 and hit 56 miles east-southeast of Perryville, Alaska, at about 8:15pm Wednesday. The quake was about 29 miles below the surface of the ocean, according to the USGS. The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings for parts of South Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutian Islands, the AP reports. A tsunami warning issued for Hawaii has been canceled.

Two other earthquakes with preliminary magnitudes of 6.2 and 5.6 occurred in the same area within a half-hour of the first one, the USGS reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a notice that the potential threat to Guam and American Samoa was still under investigation. "Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter,” the PTWC said. Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.

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