No injuries, property damage at Adak or Atka after tsunami warning

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit near Russia on Tuesday, and communities along southwestern Alaska braced for potential tsunami waves but were left without injury or significant property damage.

“We were taking it very seriously last night, notifying communities, and also stand and watch to see if they had any damages and needed any type of assistance. Thankfully that didn’t come to pass,” said Jeremy Zidek, Public Information Officer with Alaska’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

When a tsunami event is predicted, the division is tasked with issuing warnings through emergency alert systems throughout the affected area, including text, email, broadcast and radio.

In addition, “We pick up the phone and we call every community within the warning advisory and watch area to make sure that they have received that and we use 24-hour contact list that we update on a regular basis,” Zidek said.

The 50-person Village of Atka received a tsunami advisory at 3:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, which was upgraded to an evacuation warning soon after, according to Tribal Clerk Oleana Matamata.

“The evacuation was very proficient, everybody was well-versed in how to evacuate their families and locate to the evacuation site,” she said.

The evacuation lasted for around six hours, with some villagers returning to their homes when the warning was downgraded back to an advisory.

“A lot of us who are parents were sleeping lightly just in case of another tsunami warning,” Matamata explained, adding that ultimately the community saw a series of two or three waves about 1.1 feet in height.

Just west of Atka, on the island of Adak, around 60 people in the City of Adak evacuated after receiving word of danger at 2:35 local time, according to City Manager Breck Craig.

“We immediately activated the tsunami warning siren and sent out a Nixle alert to the community to please evacuate to the tsunami shelter, which is up on Bering Hill at the Bering Hill Chapel,” he said.

Within the first half hour, Craig said 95% of the community was at the tsunami shelter, where they would stay for two to three hours.

The tsunami wave that did eventually hit the island was about three feet tall, and did no damage, according to Craig.

While Zidek said the danger to Alaska from Tuesday’s earthquake seems to have passed, he urged people to remain vigilant.

“The danger of tsunamis is really great. When one is produced, it’s something that people need to get out of the way or they’re really putting their life at risk,” he explained.

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