KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Please note: this story has been updated from the original.
The Kodiak Emergency Operations Center issued a tsunami warning and evacuated low lying areas, after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck southeast of Sand Point at 12:57 p.m.
Some people moved to higher ground at the Kodiak High School to wait out the tsunami.
Since Monday was Alaska Day and a holiday for the city, many staffers were enjoying a day off when the quake rattled the Aleutian chain. But Kodiak City Manager Mike Tvenge said the city’s Emergency Operations Center was fully staffed as they waited to see if a tsunami would materialize.
There was relief when airport cameras in Sand Point did not show any tsunami inundation.
The tsunami warning was later downgraded to an advisory, after observers at the Kodiak Harbor only spotted a one-foot wave resulting from the earthquake, which had a depth of 25 miles.
The city recently replaced its aging tsunami warning sirens with new ones. Tvenge says the city will investigate complaints that people in some parts of town weren’t able to hear the new sirens very well and see what can be done to improve the situation.
#Tsunami warning in effect for #Kodiak, AK. Seek higher ground, and turn on a radio. KMXT 100.1 is the local public radio station, we’ll keep you updated. pic.twitter.com/SITm8w16xB
— Dylan Simard (@dylanasimard) October 19, 2020
