Tsunami Warning for West Coast Canceled After 7.9 Earthquake in Alaska

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami for the entire western coasts of U.S. and Canada early Tuesday morning following a magnitude 7.9 earthquake off the coast of Alaska near small city of Kodiak. (Image: USNTWC)

Tsunami Warning for West Coast Canceled After 7.9 Earthquake in Alaska

Updated: No major waves reported and U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center downgrades threat after quake strikes deep beneath Gulf of Alaska

This is a breaking story and will be updated. Check back for new information...

Update (7:48am ET): The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center canceled a west coast warning for the U.S. west coast, though it remains in effect for some local areas, after it issued one in the early morning hours following a large earthquake beneath the Gulf of Alaska

Earlier:

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami for the entire western coasts of U.S. and Canada early Tuesday morning following a magnitude 7.9 earthquake off the coast of Alaska near small city of Kodiak.

In Kodiak, local resident Larry Pestrikoff had thousands of people tuning into his Facebook feed as he streamed live video of the harbor near his home.

The Anchorage Daily Newsreports:

The quake woke people up in Anchorage, more than 350 miles from the epicenter, and was felt throughout much of the state, including as far away as Fairbanks.

One Kodiak man, Eric Cusson, said hundreds of cars had driven up Pillar Mountain, the site of the town's utility-scale wind turbines.

"Pretty much everyone in town went up Pillar Mountain," he said.

One of Cusson's friends said the Coast Guard appeared to have evacuated all the aircraft from their local base, which is on the waterfront.

"She saw all the C-130s and all the helicopters take off," he said.

By 2:20 a.m., though, people were still awaiting the arrival of a tsunami, Cusson added.

"So far, no waves," he said.

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