What is the time in Alaska right now? Will there be another earthquake?
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit off the coast of Alaska on Tuesday prompting warnings of a possible tsunami in South Alaska and the Alaska peninsula. The major earthquake was among one of the strongest recorded in USA history and was followed by a series of minor earthquakes but will there be any further earthquakes?
The powerful quake struck around 280km (174 miles) southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska at 9.31am GMT (12.31am local time) on Tuesday.
It prompted a tsunami warning for the entire US west coast, however the warning has now been downgraded to an advisory affecting South Alaska and the Alaska peninsula from Hichinbrook entrance to Chignik Bay, Alaska.
The tsunami watch has been cancelled for other areas, including the coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington, British Colombia and Hawaii.
A tsunami advisory means people should stay out of the water and away from beaches as the waves are dangerous to those in or very near water.
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Emergency sirens sounded in Kodiak, a town of 6,100 people on Alaska’s Kodiak Island, which is one of the closest settlements to the epicentre after the powerful earthquake.
A local public radio station KMXT said: “This is a tsunami warning. This is not a drill. Please get out to higher ground.
"If you are on the flats, get up on one of the hills ... Just go high."
Alaska earthquake center/NOAA
Will there be another earthquake?
The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a series of minor earthquakes close to the initial 7.9 earthquake - the strongest one to hit was at 11.47am GMT measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale.
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake was also measured 59km north-east of Honoka’a, Hawaii at 9.38am GMT.
A total of 23 earthquakes have been recorded since the magnitude 7.9 earthquake, the latest one was recorded at 12.19pm GMT, 283km northeast of Kodiak measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale.
No further earthquakes have been recorded for an hour, so it is unclear whether now the tsunami has passed whether there will be any further seismic movement.
The United States National Tsunami Warning Center reported a small tsunami wave height of less than eight inches was observed in the Alaska towns of Old Harbor, Seward and Kodiak.
USGS
Getty
What is the time in Alaska right now?
The time in Alaska is 5am, it is nine hours behind GMT - the first powerful earthquake was recorded at 12.31am on Tuesday morning.
Authorities urged people to get to higher ground or move inland as a tsunami warning was initially issued across a large swathe of coastal Alaska and Canada’s British Colombia.
“If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground,” Anchorage Office of Emergency Management said.
“Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is possible or is already occurring.”
People had to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night to evacuation centres above the 100-foot mark.
It was reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of miles away in Anchorage.
