Updated | 11:16 a.m. July 18
No tsunami is expected in the Aleutians, after a large earthquake near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
The National Tsunami Warning Center briefly issued a tsunami advisory Monday for the western Aleutian Islands.
“There was a magnitude 6.5 (earthquake Monday) morning and this was a magnitude 7.8,” said tsunami science warning officer Paul Huang. “In theory, we don’t know when the next one will come. It could be a few minutes from now. It could be another 100 years.”
The Palmer, Alaska-based scientist says it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
“It’s always safer when you are alive,” Huang said. “You never know, we’re scientists. We cannot predict nature. We just do our best guess.”
Even though the advisory has been canceled, Huang recommends people stay alert and keep away from beaches for the next day.
— Zoe Sobel, KUCB-Unalaska
Original story | 5:57 p.m. July 17
A strong earthquake on the Russian side of the Bering Sea briefly prompted a tsunami advisory for parts of the Pacific, including Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands and Russia. The National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer canceled the advisory because the tsunami no longer posed a threat.
Officials at the warning center had cautioned waves could reach up to 3 feet above the tide level. But waves later Monday were reported only 6 inches above tide at the sparsely populated Shemya, the site of a remote Air Force station in the extreme western Aleutians.
The quake was initially measured at magnitude 7.4 when it struck just after 3:30 p.m. Alaska time in the Komandorskiye Ostrova region of Russia, roughly 1,400 miles east of Anchorage.
— The Associated Press
