Weather

No tsunami expected after large earthquake off Russia

The National Weather Service issued and then canceled a tsunami advisory for a swath of the western Aleutian Islands after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake off a Russian island.

So far, the earthquake has resulted in about 3.5 inches to the typical height of the tide in the remote island communities, said David Hale, an oceanographer with the weather service's Tsunami Warning Center.

"If they have a lot of waves out there, it'd be hard to notice," Hale said.

The quake struck at 3:34 p.m. Alaska time 120 miles southeast of Bering Island, Komandorski, Russia, at a depth of 6 miles, according to the weather service. Bering Island is part of a series and a continuation of the Aleutian Chain.

The nearest Alaska landmark to the epicenter of the earthquake is Attu Station. Communities under the advisory include Adak and Atka, but they're near the end of the affected area.

The advisory was canceled around 5:10 p.m.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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