Unalaska, AK – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck in the Fox Islands region of the Aleutians on Saturday night. The earthquake hit about 40 miles from Nikolski, and was felt as far as Kodiak.
According to the Alaska Earthquake Information Center, the initial earthquake happened 21 miles below the sea bed, and at least 20 aftershocks with magnitudes higher than 4 have hit since Saturday night. The strongest of these was a 5.8 magnitude aftershock that was felt in Nikolski around noon on Sunday.
"We expect the aftershock activity will continue for at least a couple of weeks and maybe up to a couple of months," says Natasha Rupert, a seismologist with the center.
For a 6.7 magnitude earthquake, the effect has been negligible. No tsunami hit in the aftermath of the quake, and no injuries related to the earthquake have been reported. While phones are down in Nikolski, there also hasn't been any word of any permanent damage, says Cindi Preller at the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.
"They felt some shaking and some stuff fell off the walls -- but no one was hurt, there were no injuries, and there was no significant water behavior," says Preller. "But what's interesting to me is what the difference is between a nearly magnitude 7 earthquake in Nikolski compared to a magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti, and how it affects the community."
If the earthquake didn't cause much harm to Nikolski, it caused even less to Unalaska, where about a dozen people reported feeling the earthquake to local police, says director of Public Safety Jamie Sunderland.

"I think most people were out being active, and they wouldn't have even noticed it," says Sunderland.

The last time a major earthquake hit the region was October, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck about 75 miles away from Nikolski.