Earthquake shakes Southcentral Alaska

MAT-SU — On Sunday night, residents across Alaska were shaken by an earthquake that has been upgraded to magnitude 6.1 by the United States Geological Survey. While no major damage was reported, the sharp jolts felt across the Mat-Su Valley were a reminder of the actively moving tectonic plates below Alaska. The quake occurred 56 miles North North East of Sutton and 60 miles East of Talkeetna. The Alaska Earthquake Center reported that the quake was felt widely throughout Alaska, as far north as Fairbanks and as far East as Cordova.

“Most people who experienced this earthquake were a considerable distance away. As a result, the shaking was mostly experienced as long rolling motions and not the sharp jolt experienced by people close to the epicenter,” wrote Michael West of the Alaska Earthquake Center.

The quake occurred at 10:59 p.m. and was epicentered 48.1 kilometers deep. Monitoring stations deployed by the Alaska Earthquake Center that were closest to the epicenter registered a shaking equivalent to five percent acceleration of gravity.

“Though generally not enough to cause significant damage in Alaska, it certainly woke up a lot of folks who had turned in for the evening. Though aftershocks are occurring and should continue, the location makes it unlikely that many of these will be felt, except by folks living quite close to the epicenter,” wrote West.