4.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Near Anchorage, Alaska

Top video shows moment last month's Indonesia earthquake hit

An earthquake hit near Anchorage, Alaska, on the night of Oct. 14, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake had a 4.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, hitting at 9:19 p.m. local time, about 20 miles west of Anchorage. It had a depth of about 39 miles, the USGS said.

The Alaska Earthquake Center said the quake occurred in the state’s Cook Inlet Region. The National Tsunami Warning Center, meanwhile, noted that a tsunami wasn’t expected at the time, according to KTVA.

Meanwhile, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck about 60 miles north-northeast of Kobuk, Alaska, on Oct. 14. The quake was located in the Brooks Range. USGS

On the USGS website, a number of people said they felt the quake, from Seward to Glennallen.

Meanwhile, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck about 60 miles north-northeast of Kobuk, Alaska, on Oct. 14. The quake was located in the Brooks Range.

Kobuk is a city located within the Arctic Borough, Alaska. It has a population of about 151.

The National Weather Service said: “There is NO tsunami danger from this earthquake.”

In August, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck a remote area of the Alaska North Slope area.

In January, a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake off the Pacific Coast triggered a tsunami warning along the state’s southern coast. People in British Columbia, Canada, also got the warning.

Indonesia Earthquake Update

Several weeks after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, killing at least 2,000 people, search and rescue efforts came to an official end this week, AccuWeather reported.

“The suffering is palpable. The suffering of those who are leaving. The suffering of those who are staying. Mothers with children stand in long lines at the airport hoping and praying that they will be able to take the next flight out of the city. But even they are sad, suffering. They are leaving their homes, their loved ones – some who may be dead, some still missing,” Vlatko Uzevski, MD, of Project HOPE said of the devastation in Palu.

Areas around Palu were subjected to liquefaction (as seen in the top video) during the quake, meaning that the ground turned soft and liquidy, destroying a number of buildings and burying people alive, according to reports.

Ring of Fire

In 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake triggered tsunamis, ground fissures, and destroyed buildings in Anchorage, the state’s largest city. Dozens of people died in the quake. That quake is now known as the Great Alaskan earthquake or the Good Friday earthquake. Historically, there have been a number of significant earthquakes around the coast of Alaska.

“The 1964 Alaskan tsunami is the largest and most destructive recorded tsunami to ever strike the United States Pacific Coast. Along the Washington coast, tsunami waves destroyed houses, cars, boats, and fishing gear, causing an estimated $80,000 in damage to roads and bridges alone. At Ocean City, 5- to 6-foot tsunami waves collapsed the bridge over Copalis River. Wave heights at Moclips, Sea View, La Push, and Wreck Creek reached an estimated 11, 12, 5, 7, and 15 feet, respectively,” according to the University of Southern California’s website.

The Pacific "Ring of Fire." About 90 percent of the world's earthquakes hit along this area, which spans the Pacific Ocean basin. Public Domain

That quake “caused many large landslides and submarine slumps, which in turn produced destructive local tsunamis at many locations along the Alaskan coast,” USC wrote. “Due to the orientation of the fault that generated the tsunami, the largest waves outside of Alaska, occurred along the northwest Pacific coasts of Canada and the United States.”

Alaska, along with the U.S. West Coast, is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the world’s most seismically active area. About 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes are registered in the region.