Magnitude 7.1 earthquake felt throughout Southcentral Alaska

Alaska Dispatch News ^ | January 24, 2016 | Alaska Dispatch News

[RaceBannon]

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake felt throughout Southcentral Alaska Alaska Dispatch News January 24, 2016 Email -A+A Southcentral Alaska was rocked by a strong and prolonged magnitude-7.1 earthquake early Sunday morning.

The quake struck 86 miles west-southwest of Anchor Point at 1:30 a.m. Alaska time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS initially measured the quake at magnitude 6.4, but upgraded it to 7.1 shortly after. The Alaska Earthquake Center said it hit about 65 miles west of the Kenai Peninsula town of Homer and about 160 miles southwest of Anchorage.

According to the National Weather Service, the quake was not expected to generate a tsunami.

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Tsunami Info Stmt 2: M7.1 050Mi E Iliamna, Alaska 0130AKST Jan 24: Tsunami NOT expected; CA,OR,WA,BC,and AK #NTWC

— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 24, 2016 The Anchorage Fire Department reported it was "very busy with reports of gas odors, alarm systems sounding, broken water lines, etc." in the wake of the earthquake. The Anchorage Police Department said shortly after 2 a.m. that it had not received any reports of major damage or injury.

Twitter and Facebook users reported scattered power outages around the region from the quake, which continued for about 30 seconds, and was strong enough to knock objects off shelves in homes and stores around the region.

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Meanwhile, the Carrs Safeway looking like pic.twitter.com/00KLExFVQu

— BB Bliss (@BlissBitch) January 24, 2016 Many said it was the strongest earthquake they'd felt in decades of living in Alaska.

Twitter users reported outages in the area of Downtown, Lake Otis and Tudor and the neighborhood of Government Hill in Anchorage. Matanuska Electric Association was reporting scattered outages on Facebook, including at its Douglass substation in Willow, along with "several other feeder outages, especially impacting the Palmer area."

Chugach Electric was reporting about 4,100 customers without power around 2 a.m. Municipal Light and Power said crews were responding to "some isolated, localized outages" in its service area.

Twitter users said they could feel the temblor as far away as Fairbanks.

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@adndotcom Felt it in Fairbanks, too. https://t.co/ucdg6gvxYP

— Diane Fleeks (@alaskahippo) January 24, 2016 Aftershocks were rattling the area near the initial quake Sunday morning; the USGS reported earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.0 and 3.2 within a half-hour of the first, stronger earthquake.

The earthquake rolled many out of bed, but in Anchorage, the bars were still open when the shaker struck.

James Mooney, general manager at Downtown bar Humpy’s Alehouse, said the establishment lost power during the quake, with some glasses and dishes falling and breaking. The bar’s adjacent sister businesses, Flattop Pizza + Pool and the Subzero Lounge, fared a little better.

“We had to close a little early,” Mooney said. “Our computer systems were knocked out on the Humpy’s side -- Flattop and Subzero still had their power.”

“That was a crazy earthquake, man -- I’ve been here 20 years, and that’s the most powerful one I’ve felt,” Mooney said.

Check back for updates.

[vpintheak]

I felt rumblings here in Fairbanks. Right around d 1:30. House make so slight noise and vibrate city.

[left that other site]

So glad you are OK!

(((HUGS)))

[SevenofNine]

OH MAN Godzilla stop messing with Alaska

[KGeorge]

Thank you for checking in! Glad you’re okay. lol You’re so nonchalant. (I’d be crazy)

[KGeorge]

Thank you for the ping!

[hattend]

It was rocking and rolling here in King Salmon. We’re just down the peninsula from Iliamna where it was centered.

No damage as far as we can tell.

[Starstruck]

Hope it didn’t knock down the Kilcher’s new staircase or Shan’s house.

[left that other site]

My Pleasure!

[abclily]

Funny!!!

[ErnBatavia]

Gotta watch tonight...wifey saw a promo which indicated that Otto’s now in some sort of physical distress.

[gleeaikin]

I was in a 7.5 in Mexico City in 1957. Coming home at 1 am from a party I started to stagger. But I only had one drink I told my friend from California. He grabbed my hand and yelled “earthquake”. We ran down the intersection and stood in the middle of the street away from the 3 story buildings and overhead wires which were flapping wildly along with the poles that were leaning from side to side. It was like a fast moving subway train and we held each other to keep from falling about 1 1/2 minutes. When I got home all the tall jars of plants had fallen over, the maid was curled up in a bundle of laundry under the dining table, and my apartment mate said she ran out of her room because it looked like a palm tree was headed for her window, and the chandelier in the dining room was hitting the ceiling and then swinging to hit the other side back and forth.

I was also inside the DC beltway during the 5.8 in Mineral, Virginia. Sitting on the bed it began to quiver and the wall opposite me was shuddering for about 15 seconds. Paid someone $200 to repair some chimney cracks. Good luck all and hope this was the main one, not a foreshock.