A magnitude 7.9 earthquake has hit the Gulf of Alaska, prompting warnings of a possible tsunami down the Canadian and US west coast.
The quake hit around 250 km (160 miles) southeast of Chiniak, Alaska at a depth of 25 km at 9.31am GMT, the US Geological Survey said. It initially said the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.2.
A red tsunami alert was in place for a large part of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia, while the remainder of the US west coast was under a watch.
If there is a tsunami, it is expected to hit the small fishing centre of Kodiak, Alaska, first. Kodiak has an estimated population of around 6,000 people.
Residents reported hearing tsunami sirens and evacuating in the middle of the night.
At 2.29am local time, Kodiak police said water was receding from the harbour.
If true, this could indicate that a tsunami is about to arrive, since waters typically move back as a wave gathers.
The police department also said it had received reports the tide level rose three feet and then subsided.
A buoy just northwest the epicentre earlier recorded a massive 10-metre wave, NWS Boston said in a tweet.
People in the areas where there was a red alert were told to leave low-lying ground.
In a warning for Alaska and British Columbia, Anchorage Office of Emergency Management said: “If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground. Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is possible or is already occurring.”
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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre 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.”
The NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said ”widespread hazardous tsunami waves were possible”.
Warnings from the NWS sent to mobile phones in Alaska said: “Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland.”
People took to social media to say they had been told to evacuate.
“I just found out that I’m in the danger zone for a tsunami after a 8.2-earthquake and we got a warning call and have to evacuate with our horses and I’m so scared I can’t stop shaking,” one west coast resident said.
People said they felt the quake hundreds of miles away in Anchorage.
Alaska Governor Bill Walker said in a statement on Twitter that a blackout at the University of Alaska Fairbanks was making it more difficult to respond to the event.
A number of government tsunami-monitoring websites were not working on Tuesday morning, adding to confusion. It was not immediately clear whether this was associated with a federal government shutdown over the weekend.
A tsunami watch was initially issued for Hawaii, but was later cancelled, according to NWS Honolulu.
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