Alaska News

6.2-magnitude earthquake hits Alaska Peninsula

PORT HEIDEN — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Alaska Peninsula late Friday.

The Alaska Earthquake Center released a statement saying the tremor hit at 9:50 p.m. about 31 miles northeast of Port Heiden and was felt as far away as Dillingham.

An official with the U.S. Geological Survey said there had been no reports of damage.

Zachary Reeves, a USGS geophysicist, said there had already been a couple small aftershocks.

In January, four homes were lost to explosions or fire following a 7.1-magnitude quake in Southcentral Alaska. It was centered 53 miles west of Anchor Point in the Kenai Peninsula, which is about 160 miles southwest of Anchorage

"The magnitude of a 7.0 (earthquake) is 10 times larger than a 6.0 and is 31 times stronger as far as the energy released approximately," Reeves said.

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