Juneau (Alaska): A powerful earthquake, measuring 7.0, struck a remote area near the border between Alaska and the Canadian territory of Yukon in the late afternoon on Saturday (Sunday in India). There was no tsunami warning, and officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
The earthquake was recorded about 230 miles (370 kilometres) northwest of Juneau, Alaska, and 155 miles (250 kilometres) west of Whitehorse, Yukon, the US Geological Survey said, according to an AP report.
The agency has quoted Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt Calista MacLeod as saying from Whitehorse that the detachment received two 911 calls about the earthquake. “It definitely was felt,” MacLeod said. “There are a lot of people on social media, people felt it.”
According to seismologist Alison Bird, the part of Yukon most affected by the quake is mountainous and has few people.
“Mostly people have reported things falling off shelves and walls. It doesn’t seem like we’ve seen anything in terms of structural damage,” Bird said.
The Canadian community nearest to the epicentre is Haines Junction, about 80 miles (130 kilometres) away. The Yukon Bureau of Statistics lists its population count for 2022 as 1,018. The quake was also about 56 miles (91 kilometres) from Yakutat, Alaska, which the USGS said has 662 residents.
The earthquake struck at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometres) and was followed by multiple smaller aftershocks.
News agency ANI has quoted CBC as saying that that the South Klondike Highway will be closed starting at 5 pm from kilometre 24 to kilometre 106. It will remain closed overnight due to increased avalanche conditions. The road will be reassessed in the morning, and up-to-date details will be shared online.
CBC also reported that Edwin Nissen, a Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria, said earthquakes have been recorded in the same area in 1899, 1979, 2002 and 2017.
