A major earthquake struck Alaska’s Aleutian Islands this morning.
Tuesday, 24th June 2014
A magnitude 7.9 undersea earthquake struck 24 km south-east of Little Sitkin Island in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands at 8:53 this morning, New Zealand time. This revised analysis of the quake by the United States Geological Survey puts the quake at a depth of 108 km.
Initial assessment of the earthquake by various agencies indicated it was magnitude 8.0 (known as a Great Quake). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre initially reported it as magnitude 7.1 but quickly revised it to magnitude 8.0, located in the Rat Islands at a depth of 114 km.
A small local tsunami was generated by the quake. The United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported sea level changes of 0.7 feet at Amchitka, Alaska and 0.6 feet at Atka. Smaller changes of 0.2 and 0.3 feet were recorded at other locations on the Alaskan coast.
NOAA cancelled its tsunami advisory at 12:35 New Zealand time.
Numerous aftershocks have followed this earthquake, the largest being a magnitude 6.0 quake centred 6 km west-north-west of Little Sitkin Island at 9:12 this morning, New Zealand time.