The entire western coast of the United States, as well as Alaska and parts of Canada, were placed on tsunami watch after a massive earthquake hit off the Alaskan coast. The US Tsunami Warning System alerted people shortly before 1 a.m. local time after the 8.2-magnitude quake struck. According to the US Geological Survey, the tremor hit 157 miles southeast of Chiniak, Alaska, at a depth of 10 km at 0931 GMT on Tuesday (0.31 a.m. in Alaska). People on social media posted screenshots of emergency warnings sent to their phones, telling them to "go to high ground or move inland"
A public warning from the Office of Emergency Management in Anchorage, Alaska's biggest city, said:"If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground. Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is possible or is already occurring. Tsunamis are a series of waves dangerous many hours after initial arrival time. The first wave may not be the largest."It warned that the first waves could start hitting from 1.45 a.m., in the town of Kodiak. A map from the tsunami warning system, posted on Twitter, showed the travel times for any potential waves. According to their estimates, any tsunami would take at least three hours to strike the lower 49 states.