Tsunami Warning Downgraded to Advisory After 8.0 Quake in Western Aleutians

According to the US Geological Service an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 struck at 12:53 pm Monday with a depth of 62 miles near the Rat Islands. According to a National Tsunami Warning Center bulletin, the earthquake was originally recorded with a magnitude 7.1, but it was later revised to 8.0. The deep ocean earthquake prompted the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer to issue a Tsunami Warning for coastal areas of Alaska from Nikolski to Attu. The tsunami warning center recorded a max Tsunami Height of just above half a foot at Amchitka and Unalaska, which is measured as the water level above the tide level at the time of measurement. The State of Alaska’s Emergency Operations Center was activated on Monday in response to the warnings and advisories. The center carried out its automated Tsunami notification system and individually called each of the communities in the affected areas. The personnel in the emergency operations center confirm that they will continue to monitor the situation and will stand ready to provide emergency assistance if requested by communities. The warning did not affect the Bristol Bay region, and the region is not expecting any impact from the earthquake or resulting Tsunami.