Massive 7.9-Magnitude Quake Strikes Off Alaska Coast, Tsunami Warnings Issued

A huge 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck 250 kilometers southeast of Chiniak, Alaska, tsunami warning in effect. The NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that "widespread hazardous tsunami waves were possible."

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Warnings were issued for parts of Alaska and Canada after the massive earthquake hit off the coast of Alaska, U.S. Tsunami Warning System said. The alert instructed all affected individuals to move to higher grounds.

A tsunami watch alert has also been issued for the entire west coast of the United States.

“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 epicenter,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. 

Nathaniel Moore told CCN that he felt it "shake really good for a minute." Moore and other occupants of a commercial fishing vessel in Kodiak have heeded the warning and are moving to higher ground amid the tsunami warning. "The whole town is evacuating," he said. 

The downgraded earthquake, which was initially measured at a magnitude of 8.2, hit the waters southeast of Alaska, according to reports from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The tremor struck at a depth of 10 kilometers early Tuesday, the USGS reported. 

According to social media posts, the quake was felt hundreds of miles away in Anchorage.

The earthquake's epicenter was located at the depth of 10 kilometers around 281 kilometers from southern Kodiak Island.