Tsunami warning in Alaska after 7.5 magnitude earthquake

A tsunami warning was triggered Monday in Alaska following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of this American state, announced the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS).

The tremor, initially rated at 7.4, was recorded 91 km southeast of Sand Point, in the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea, about 40 km deep, the USGS said.

The tsunami alert concerns the south coast of the state as well as the Alaska Peninsula but spares Anchorage, the largest city in the state, located nearly a thousand kilometers from the epicenter.

Alaska is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire

"For the other American and Canadian coasts in North America, the level of danger of the tsunami is being evaluated", specifies the center of alert of the Pacific for the tsunamis.

No information on possible casualties or damage was available immediately after the shock.

The quake was felt in King Cove, about 100 kilometers west of Sand Point, but no damage was found, the small town manager, Gary Hennigh, told Anchorage Daily News.

"Residents and workers at the cannery are evacuating to the heights until we know more about the tsunami warning," he said.

"It rocked a lot, I can't tell you how long it lasted, maybe 15 to 30 seconds," added Michael Ashley of Cold Bay.

"All the sofas, armchairs and shelves were moving".

The main quake was followed by several aftershocks with a magnitude greater than or equal to 5. Alaska is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a very active area for earthquakes and stretching from the Gulf of Alaska to the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula.