Tsunami alert canceled for Alaska after massive earthquake strikes off coast

An earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck 250 km southeast of Chiniak in Alaska, according to U.S. Geological Survey earthquake on Tuesday morning. After a few intense hours, the tsunami warning was canceled, allowing people to return home from shelters.

The quake hit 157 miles southeast of Chiniak at about 9.30am GMT on Tuesday (12.30am local time).

Prelim M8.2 earthquake Gulf of Alaska Jan-23 09:31 UTC, updates https://t.co/IS7vGrshXA

— USGS Big Quakes (@USGSBigQuakes) January 23, 2018

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, "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 epicentre."

It was at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km), the US Geological Survey reported. It prompted a tsunami warning for parts of Alaska and Canada as well as a tsunami watch for the entire US west coast.

Tue Jan 23 10:07:47 UTC 2018 event picture pic.twitter.com/qeKKqFTysB

— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 23, 2018

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