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The Alaska Earthquake Center described Monday's magnitude 6.9 earthquake as an aftershock to an 8.2 earthquake that occurred in late July.
According to the Alaska Earthquake Center, Monday's earthquake was felt across the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island.
It took place about 70 miles (115 km) east of Chignik. This is a small community of approximately 90 people on Alaska's Peninsula. Chignik lies approximately 450 miles (725 km) southwest Anchorage, and 260 miles (405 kilometers) southwest Kodiak.
According to Natalia Ruppert, a seismologist, the center has not received any reports of damage and relies on its own reporting. Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for Alaska's emergency management agency, stated that the office was contacting communities but had not received any reports of damage.
Twitter's U.S. Geological Survey reported a preliminary magnitude reading of 6.5, but this was later revised to 6.9 by the U.S. Geological Survey. This ties Alaska's August earthquake.
These two 6.9 earthquakes were the most powerful aftershocks since the United States suffered its biggest earthquake in half-century. Although it was felt widely, the earthquake did not cause any major damage to the region most affected. According to the earthquake center, it was the largest earthquake in the United States since the magnitude 8.7 earthquake that struck the Aleutians in 1965.
Ruppert stated that aftershocks from July's earthquakes could continue for "many more months".
She stated that the region is seismically active and it is not unusual for a large earthquake to produce aftershocks of magnitude 6 or greater.
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