The 7.1-magnitude temblor hit at 1:30 a.m. AKST Sunday (5:30 a.m. EST Sunday), the USGS said. Its epicenter was located 52 miles east of Old Iliamna, Alaska. It had an initial magnitude of 6.4.
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The earthquake was felt in Anchorage and caused power outages in the region, according to utility and media reports. At least 10,000 customers were without electricity in the Anchorage area, utilities reported.
Tweets from the area showcase the rattled nerves the quake caused–one person nearly had a fish tank to clean up.. Car alarms buzzing. People without electricity..
The Anchorage Fire Department Tweets..
The earthquake was widely felt by residents of Anchorage, and there are reports of scattered power outages from the Matanuska Electric Association and Chugach Electric in the Anchorage area. The Homer Electric Association reported on its website that about 4,800 customers were without power early Sunday in the Kenai Peninsula, which is about 160 road miles southwest of Anchorage. The Anchorage and Valdez police departments say they have not received any reports of injury or significant damage.
Anchorage resident Ron Barta says his house shook about 1:34 a.m. when the earthquake hit. Barta, 55, says the pictures on the walls started moving, but there was no damage to his house and no one was hurt.
“I was sitting here with the dogs getting ready to go to bed about 1:34 local time. … I felt a little rumble that didn’t quit for about 30 to 45 seconds. It felt like the house moved,” said Barta, who is married to an Associated Press reporter.
Vincent Nusunginya, 34, of Kenai said he was at his girlfriend’s house when the earthquake hit.
“It started out as a shaking and it seemed very much like a normal earthquake. But then it started to feel like a normal swaying, like a very smooth side-to-side swaying,” said Nusunginya, director of audience at the Peninsula Clarion newspaper. “It was unsettling. Some things got knocked over, but there was no damage.”
