An earthquake of magnitude 8.2 hit the Alaskan peninsula at 10.15 pm on Wednesday (11.45 am IST), prompting a tsunami warning for Alaska’ southeast region.
The earthquake hit 91 km southeast of the town of Perryville in Alaska’s Anchorage municipality, AFP reported.
The quake, considered shallow, took place at a depth of 32.2 km. Shallow earthquakes are those between 0 and 70 km in depth, according to CNN.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the possibility of a tsunami threat to Hawaii and the Pacific territory of Guam was being investigated, reported Reuters.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency was also investigating whether there was a possibility of a tsunami hitting the country, Reuters reported, citing public broadcaster NHK. New Zealand too was assessing if there was any danger to the country’s coastal regions.
Large earthquakes are common in the region, according to the United States Geological Survey. It said that since 1900, eight earthquakes of magnitude 7 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the current tremor location.
The peninsula was hit by an earthquake of 9.2 magnitude on March 27, 1964, killing more than 250 people. The earthquake had adversely affected Anchorage and led to a tsunami that hit the Gulf of Alaska, the US west coast and Hawaii.
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