Anchorage Earthquake: 5.8 Magnitude Quake Rattles Southern Coast Of Alaska

Officials at the United States Geological Survey said a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska on Monday, close to the city of Anchorage, rattling buildings and homes in the area.

According to the USGS, the temblor, initially reported as a magnitude 5.7 and later upgrade to a 5.8-magnitude, struck at 4:42 pm 25 miles west of Anchorage. It was relatively shallow at a depth of 33 miles.

Guy Urban, a geophysicist at the Alaska and West Coast Tsunami Warning Center, said the quake was felt as far south as the fishing community of Homer, 125 miles southwest of Anchorage, and in Willow, 50 miles north of the city.

“The temblor is not expected to generate a tsunami,” Mr. Urban said.

In calls coming into the West Coast Tsunami Warning Center minutes after the quake happened, people mentioned the quake was large enough to cause objects to fall off shelves, but no casualties or major damage was immediately reported.

‘‘It hit like a bam, really hard,’’ said East Anchorage resident John Owens, who felt the quake at his home.

That was followed by low shaking, which he estimated to last about 30 seconds. ‘‘And then it ended with a second bam,’’ he said.

The Christian Science Monitor notes that moderate to strong earthquakes (5.0-magnitude and up) are fairly common in Alaska, one of the most seismically active parts of the United States.

In September 2011, Alaska was struck by a massive 6.8 earthquake. The quake was of marginal depth located roughly twenty miles below the earth’s surface.

NECN has more no the Anchorage earthquake in the video below: