11:30 p.m. update:
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management has clarified that the tsunami warning is in effect for the coastal areas of Kachemak Bay. This includes the communities of Nanwalek, Port Graham, Homer, Seldovia, and Kachemak Bay inland to the Fox River Flats.
Residents are advised to evacuate to higher ground. Homer High School is the designated evacuation location for those who do not have another place to evacuate to.
An initial tidal wave is estimated for the Kachemak Bay area around 1:25 a.m., according to the borough.
There is a tsunami advisory in effect for the communities of Seward and Resurrection Bay, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
11:15 p.m. update:
The earthquake that struck 75 miles south of Chignik shortly after 10 p.m. tonight has been upgraded to a magnitude 7.8 by the U.S. Tsunami Warning System.
The Homer Police Department and the Homer Volunteer Fire Department are now both advising that Homer residents below the tsunami inundation zone evacuate while the agencies work on getting more concrete information about the level of threat being posed to the Homer area. A tsunami warning is in effect.
“… we recommend if you are below the Homer Bypass, lower Ben Walters Lane, Homer Spit, Old Town and Lower Early Spring that you evacuate until we have more information,” the Homer Police wrote in their Facebook page.
You can see a map of the Homer tsunami inundation zone by clicking here: https://www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/emergency_information/page/44301/2018_downtown_homer_tsunami_inundation_zone_map_sh002_0.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0EjKUnjWFqDkDNpxPWdtoH8DmRX5tp-QdWXtKSw333WliRnOfaAV4JTUk
Original story:
A Tsunami warning is in effect for the Homer area, as well as other parts of Alaska, after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rumbled near the Aleutian Island chain Tuesday night.
The temblor hit about 75 miles south of Chignik, which is in the Lake and Peninsula Borough, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was 8 miles deep and struck at 10:12 p.m.
As a result, a tsunami warning has been enacted for areas of Alaska from the Kennedy Entrance, which is 40 miles southwest of Homer, to Unimak Pass, which is 80 miles northeast of Unalaska.
The level of a warning means that a tsunami with “significant inundation” is expected. The warning is active for the next two hours.
An alert that went out of residents’ phones advises moving to higher ground and avoiding coastal areas until officials say it is safe to return. The Homer Volunteer Fire Department is advising that residents safely evacuate to higher ground.
Residents can tune in to the public radio station KBBI for updated emergency information.
There are no warnings in effect for Kenai, Soldotna, Ninilchik, Resurrection Bay, or other inland areas of the peninsula, according to a post by the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Those areas are not being advised to evacuate.
