Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes near Yakutat, kicking off a series of aftershocks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A magnitude 7.0 earthquake rattled Alaskans near Yakutat late Saturday morning, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.

The earthquake hit at 11:41 a.m. approximately 58 miles north of Yakutat and 68 miles southwest of Haines Junction, and kicked off a series of strong aftershocks, including multiple above M5.0.

Michael West, the state seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Center, said he had not heard of any injuries in the hours after the quake, which came at a depth of 1.9 miles below the earth’s surface.

“Here we are 40 minutes after the earthquake, it appears to be generating a pretty vigorous aftershock sequence,” West said.

West said he also had not heard of any damages, but noted the state is “very much in the midst of response right now.”

“Magnitude 7 is certainly enough to cause ground failures. So, though I have no observations yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if we heard about roadways or something that were impacted or landslides in the area or anything like that. But, again, we do not know that at this time, but magnitude 7 is the kind of earthquake where we would begin to expect those kinds of impacts,” West said.

No tsunami watches or warnings have been issued as of about 12:30 p.m. The National Tsunami Warning Center said it does not have concerns about a tsunami, but it will keep monitoring the situation.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with new information.

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