#earthquake alaska #earthquake #alaska earthquake today #alaska #anchorage earthquake

A Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Just Hit Alaska

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Alaska today southwest of Anchorage according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Sunday morning earthquake’s epicenter was located near Cook Inlet approximately 170 miles to the southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. Local residents say the shaking lasted 30 seconds and continued to get bigger and bigger as time went on.

There are no reports of injury or significant damage due to the Alaska earthquake and no tsunami threat based on the vertical offset of movement. Two smaller earthquakes followed the larger M 7.1 earthquake within 2 hours, one of M 4.0 and the other M 3.2. The shaking caused road damage, structural damage to walls and foundation, and a gas leak in Kenai that led to the evacuation of homes.

Local officials reported that 4,800 customers were without power on Sunday in Kenai Peninsula on a day when the high is 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Dozens of homes have been evacuated as workers continue to work on the gas leak.

Geologic & Tectonic Setting Of Alaska’s Earthquake

The earthquake today in Alaska resulted in a strike-slip motion at an intermediate depth of 127.8 km . This strike slip motion was due to the northwestward movement of the Pacific plate with respect to the North American plate. This northwestward movement is part of the broader subduction of the Pacific plate underneath the North American plate at a rate of 60 mm/yr. The specific location of the earthquake was located within the subducting Pacific plate rather than the Pacific and North American plate boundary. This crustal deformation within the Pacific plate caused a sudden release of energy through the strike-slip fault, triggering the earthquake.

FONTE: http://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2016/01/24/massive-alaska-earthquake-today/#61c6a47e7b67