</s>ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Alaska's Kodiak Island early Tuesday, prompting a tsunami warning for a large swath of the state's coast and Canada's British Columbia, and watches for the rest of the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii. Officials at the National Tsunami Center canceled the warning after a few tense hours after waves failed to show up in coastal Alaska communities.

The strong earthquake hit at 12:30 a.m. and was recorded about 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Kodiak Island is located about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, which was not under a tsunami threat. Reports varied about how long the shaking lasted. In the popular cruise ship town of Seward, about 230 miles northeast of Kodiak Island, fire chief Eddie Athey said the quake felt like a gentle rattle and lasted for up to 90 seconds.

There were no immediate reports of damage, not even on Kodiak Island, the closest land to the epicenter of the quake.

Initially, the USGS said the earthquake was a magnitude 8.2. That prompted the tsunami warning for coastal Alaska and Canada's British Columbia, while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.

Tsunami alerts in Alaska and West Coast lifted

A tsunami warning for the southern coastline of Alaska -- from the Aleutian Islands to Southeast Alaska -- was downgraded to a tsunami advisory for the coastline east of Seward to Chignik Bay. It was later canceled, CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA-TV reported.

Elsewhere in the United States, Washington state, Oregon, California and Hawaii were under tsunami watches, which eventually were lifted. Officials in Japan say there was no tsunami threat there.

For Alaskans accustomed not only to tsunami threats but also to regular drills, the early morning alert that made cellphone alarms go off still created some fretful moments. The phone message read: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."

Keith Perkins got the phone alert and later heard sirens going off in his southeast Alaska hometown of Sitka. He said people on Facebook were talking about whether the threat was real and what they should do.

Given the magnitude of the earthquake, Perkins said, he thought it best to head to the high school, a tsunami evacuation point, even though in the past he felt his home was at a "high-enough spot."

"I figured I'd probably just better play it safe," he said.

Vehicles are seen evacuating Kodiak, Alaska, in wake of tsunami warning issued after powerful earthquake 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island early on Jan. 23, 2018 @Jupiter00000

People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage. Reports varied about how long the quake's shaking lasted, depending on location.

In the popular cruise ship town of Seward, about 110 miles south of Anchorage, Fire Chief Eddie Athey said the quake felt like a gentle rattle that lasted for up to 90 seconds.

"It went on long enough that you start thinking to yourself, 'Boy, I hope this stops soon because it's just getting worse,'" Athey said.

The earthquake woke Kodiak Police Lt. Tim Putney from a dead sleep. He said it shook for at least 30 seconds but admits his estimate might be skewed by sleeping through some of it.

"I've been in Kodiak for 19 years that was the strongest, longest-lasting one I've ever felt," he said by telephone.

John Bellini, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center, said there had been more than two dozen aftershocks as of about 6:30 a.m. The biggest aftershock had a magnitude of 5.3.

The earthquake was initially reported as magnitude 8.2, but Bellini said as more data comes in, better calculations can be made. Earthquake waves take time to spread.

Kodiak was projected to get the first tsunami wave, and officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas. Some people sought refuge in schools. The wave never materialized there or in other coastal communities like Homer and Seward, and the warning was soon canceled.

Larry LeDoux, superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, said schools were open as shelters and estimated there were about 500 people at the high school. He described the atmosphere inside as calm, with people waiting for updates.

He said sirens go off in the community every week as a test to make sure they are working.

In Seward, at the southern end of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, residents retreated to higher ground or left on the only road out of the city, the fire chief said. He described it as a controlled evacuation and compared it to people driving home from a holiday fireworks show.

Officials later tweeted: "National Tsunami Warning Center has CANCELLED the Tsunami Watch for San Francisco."

National Tsunami Warning Center has CANCELLED the Tsunami Watch for San Francisco. Check your email for more informa https://t.co/LH5QIHH0jQ — San Francisco DEM (@SF_emergency) January 23, 2018

The U.S. Geological Survey tweeted an explanation of what caused the quake:</s>A warning was issued for "widespread hazardous tsunami waves" following an 8.2 magnitude earthquake off the southeast coast of Alaska.

The quake - among the strongest in US history - hit at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles) some 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island at 00.31am local time (9.31am in the UK) on Tuesday, with waves of up to 32ft (10m) reported.

Parts of Alaska and the west coast of Canada were issued with a tsunami warning, while a tsunami watch was put in place for the entire US west coast - with "hazardous waves" said to be possible within the first three hours of the earthquake.

Image: Emergency services in Kodiak. Pic: Ted Panamarioff

However, the watch status was later cancelled throughout the US and Canada by the National Tsunami Centre, barring areas local to the quake itself in Alaska.

Cheers as tsunami warning called off

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had said when news of the quake broke: "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."

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Watches were put in place for British Columbia in Canada, as well as Washington state, Oregon, California and Hawaii.

People in Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, reported feeling the quake, despite being hundreds of miles away.

Sirens ring out in Alaska

Resident and KTVA reporter Emily Carlson told Sky News she felt the "slow groan" of the tremor for about 30 or 40 seconds, but that the city was not under threat.

She said: "People are generally trying to stay very calm. I think people are worried and I've heard a lot of people heading to higher ground, but we're still monitoring it on social media. In the middle of the night, not everybody is by their phone.

Cars line up to evacuate Alaska coast

"Where we are we are not in tsunami danger. Kodiak Island is where the earthquake is closest to and I've seen on social media people are evacuating and heading to the high school.

"Earthquakes to me are the scariest natural disaster that you could imagine because with earthquakes come tsunamis. But we live in Alaska so we hear about earthquakes all the time; so while people are worried, it's very measured, they're calm, and they're just waiting to see what happens."

Image: The entirety of the US west coast was on tsunami watch

In Kodiak, one of seven communities on Kodiak Island, schools were used as shelters for people who evacuated their homes, with police there telling residents to retreat to higher ground and await further updates.

In a video posted to the Kodiak Police Department Facebook page shortly after the quake, one officer said: "This is not a drill - this is an actual tsunami warning.

"Everybody get at least 100ft above sea level. Everybody get out of your homes and to a safe place. Best place right now is the high school parking lot."

Tsunami warning 'not a drill'

The department later said in a statement: "Remain at high ground. We have received two reports that the tide levels have been fluctuating in the channel six inches to one foot."

But no areas appeared to be under immediate threat, with waves missing their predicted landfall time in Kodiak, which would likely have been the first community to be hit.

Alaska resident @emilyreporting describes her experience during the earthquake and has the latest on the US west coast tsunami warning pic.twitter.com/WyW1SUBjwi — Sky News (@SkyNews) January 23, 2018

In a wider warning for Alaska and British Columbia issued earlier, the 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.

"Tsunamis are a series of waves dangerous many hours after initial arrival time. The first wave may not be the largest."

Tue Jan 23 10:07:47 UTC 2018 event picture pic.twitter.com/qeKKqFTysB — NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 23, 2018

And in a message sent to smartphones in Alaska, the National Weather Service advised: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."

Several local government websites crashed under the strain of people seeking updates, including the nationwide state-run tsunami.gov.

#tsunami warning for BC notification zones A, B, C & D. More information from Environment Canada: https://t.co/y28IfBkpdm pic.twitter.com/JJrBei92v5 — Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) January 23, 2018

Ready - the US government's official campaign to prepare people for natural disasters - features online advice, telling people to stay away from the beach and head inland, to higher ground if possible, in the event of a tsunami.

However, the campaign website was not providing any live advice or updates due to the US government shutdown.

Image: People at an evacuation centre in Tolfino, British Columbia. Pic: Catherine Lempke

Only four earthquakes with a greater magnitude have ever been recorded in the US, all of which were in Alaska and caused a tsunami.

The most powerful came on 27 March 1964, when a 9.2 magnitude quake caused ground fissures, collapsed buildings and killed 139 people.

Japan's meteorological agency said it was monitoring the situation but has not issued a tsunami alert.</s>An 8.2-magnitude earthquake has been detected about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak, Alaska, in the Gulf of Alaska, according to preliminary figures from the United States Geological Survey.

The quake had a depth of about 6 miles, according to USGS.

A tsunami warning is in effect for southeast and south Alaska, including the Alaska peninsula, Aleutian islands and British Columbia in Canada. A tsunami watch is in effect for California, Oregon and Washington, according to the Tsunami Warning Center.

Developing story - more to come</s>Tsunami warning in effect after magnitude-7.9 earthquake off Alaska

A magnitude-7.9 earthquake detected in the Gulf of Alaska has triggered tsunami warnings in Alaska and tsunami watches across several Western states.

A tsunami warning is in effect for southeast and south Alaska, including the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, as well as British Columbia in Canada. A tsunami watch is in effect for California, Oregon and Washington, according to the Tsunami Warning Center.

As of 2:29 a.m. (6:29 a.m. ET), water in the harbor near Kodiak was receding, the city’s police department tweeted, after earlier urging residents to get at least 100 feet above sea level.

“Citizens should remain in place and wait for further updates,” Kodiak police said. – READ MORE</s>UPDATE: Tsunami watches for California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Hawaii have been canceled. An advisory is still in place for Alaska.

A tsunami watch was issued for the coast from Washington to California as well as Hawaii early Tuesday after a preliminary magnitude 7. earthquake struck the Gulf of Alaska.

A tsunami warning was also in effect for the coast of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

“Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters … widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible,” the NWS Tsunami Warning Center said. “No areas covered by this message appear to be immediately threatened. However... the situation is still under investigation,” it said.

The epicentre of the quake was about 330 miles south from the coast of Alaska at a depth of six miles, the USGS said.

The Anchorage Police Department said the city was not covered by the warning and was outside the danger zone, and urged residents not to call 911.</s>A magnitude-7.9 earthquake detected in the Gulf of Alaska has triggered tsunami warnings in Alaska and tsunami watches across several Western states.

A tsunami warning is in effect for southeast and south Alaska, including the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, as well as British Columbia in Canada. A tsunami watch is in effect for California, Oregon and Washington, according to the Tsunami Warning Center.

As of 2:29 a.m. (6:29 a.m. ET), water in the harbor near Kodiak was receding, the city's police department tweeted, after earlier urging residents to get at least 100 feet above sea level.

"Citizens should remain in place and wait for further updates," Kodiak police said.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management warned residents within three blocks of the Pacific Coast or within five blocks of the San Francisco Bay to prepare to evacuate, "so that you are ready if evacuation is needed," the agency tweeted.

The earthquake struck about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak, Alaska, shortly after midnight Alaska local time, according to preliminary figures from the United States Geological Survey. The quake had a depth of about 15 miles, according to the USGS. Previously, the earthquake had been measured at magnitude 8.2.

Nathaniel Moore was on a boat in Kodiak when the quake hit. He said he felt it "shake really good for a minute." He and others on the commercial fishing vessel quickly got to shore and headed for higher ground amid the tsunami warning.

"The whole town is evacuating," he told CNN early Tuesday.

Tsunami sirens sounded in Kodiak, and police warned: "This is not a drill."

Wendy Bliss Snipes described the quake as "a slow roller, so it was felt for at least a minute before the real rolling started. Nothing fell off the walls, and I didn't have to wake my kiddo."

Heather Rand, who was in Anchorage, Alaska, told CNN that the earthquake felt like the longest she had ever experienced.

"It was a very long, slow build up. Creepy, more than anything. Definitely the longest, and I was born here," Rand said. She reported no damage besides cracks in the drywall.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correctly attribute a quotation from an Alaska resident.</s>A boy jumps from a snow sculpture in Nome, Alaska, March 11, 2014. A magnitude 8.2 earthquake hit the Gulf of Alaska today. — Reuters picWASHINGTON, Jan 23 — A magnitude 8.2 earthquake hit the Gulf of Alaska in the early hours of today, prompting authorities to warn people in the area to move away from the coast in case it causes a tsnuami.

The quake hit 256 km (157 miles) southeast of Chiniak, Alaska at a depth of 10 km at 0931 GMT, the US Geological Survey 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,” Anchorage Office of Emergency Management said in a warning for Alaska and British Columbia.

Tsunami warnings for parts of Alaska and Canada and a tsunami watch for the entire US west coast and Hawaii were issued.

“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 Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

Japan’s meteorological agency said it was monitoring the situation but did not issue a tsunami alert. — Reuters</s>ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Latest on an Alaska earthquake that prompted a tsunami warning for coastal Alaska, Canada’s British Columbia and the West Coast of the U.S. (all times local):

The National Tsunami Center has canceled a tsunami warning that was triggered by a powerful earthquake off the coast of Alaska.

Mickey Varnadao, a computer specialist with the warning center in Palmer, Alaska, said early Tuesday that an advisory remains in effect for parts of Alaska, from Kodiak Island to Prince William Sound.

Watches have been canceled for British Columbia in Canada, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. Officials in Japan say there is no tsunami threat there.

Varnadao says the agency canceled the alert after waves failed to show up in coastal Alaska communities.

The earthquake was recorded about 12:30 a.m. about 170 miles (270 kilometers) southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. It had a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 but has been downgraded to magnitude 7.9.

Larry LeDoux, superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, says schools were open as shelters and estimated there were about 500 people at the high school.

He described the atmosphere inside as calm, with people waiting for any updates.

He said sirens go off in the community every week, as a test to make sure they are working. He said the sirens were sounded for the early Tuesday tsunami warning.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck early Tuesday about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island.

A tsunami warning was issued for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.

The city of Kodiak, Alaska, was projected to see the first wave at about 1:45 a.m., about an hour after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 prompted a tsunami warning.

About a half hour later, Lt. Tim Putney of the Kodiak Police Department said there had been no reports of a wave and nothing had been seen, yet.

However, officials were telling people to hold fast at evacuation centers until further notice. He said the town has several shelters above the 100-foot mark, and they were still encouraging people below that level to evacuate.

The earthquake woke Putney up out of a dead sleep, and he estimates it shook for at least 30 seconds.

The police had not received any reports of damage.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the quake was felt widely in several communities on the Kenai Peninsula and throughout southern Alaska, but it also had no immediate reports of damage.

An official in the state emergency operations center says there have been no reports of damage as the timeline for initial waves has passed after a tsunami warning was issued following an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck near Kodiak Island, Alaska.

Kerry Seifert, an emergency management specialist, says it is almost too soon to get damage reports as members of most communities could be seeking higher ground following the quake that struck recorded about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island early Tuesday morning.

A tsunami warning was issued for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.

Warnings from the National Weather Service sent to cellphones in Alaska warned: “Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland.”

Authorities in Kodiak, Alaska, are telling residents to move to higher ground after a strong earthquake struck nearby, prompting tsunami warning for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.

A dispatcher at the Kodiak police department answered a call from The Associated Press by saying, “If this about the tsunami, you need to get to higher ground immediately.”

The earthquake, initially reported as a magnitude 8.2, was recorded about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island early Tuesday morning. Warnings from the National Weather Service sent to cellphones in Alaska warned: “Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland.”

Kodiak officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas.

People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage.

A magnitude 8.2 earthquake off Alaska’s Kodiak Island prompted a tsunami warning for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia while the remainder of the U.S. West Coast was under a watch.

The strong earthquake was recorded about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak Island early Tuesday morning. Warnings from the National Weather Service sent to cellphones in Alaska warned: “Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland.”

Kodiak officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas.

People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away, in Anchorage.</s>An 8.2 magnitude earthquake hit Alaska overnight, prompting a tsunami warning for coastal areas of Alaska and British Columbia from Attu, Alaska, to the Washington State border.

A tsunami watch is in effect along the west coast from Washington to southern California.

The earthquake hit about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak City, Alaska.

“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,” according to an alert from the Anchorage Office of Emergency Management.

Hawaii is also under a tsunami watch.

The Kodiak Police Department posted a video urging residents to get at least 100 feet about sea level:
A 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. A tsunami warning is issued for coastal Alaska and British Columbia, and the entire U.S. West Coast is placed under a tsunami watch. Areas of Alaska remain under a tsunami advisory. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.