Alaska earthquake: 6.1-magnitude tremor hits northwest US

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 has struck central Alaska, according to the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).

It occurred just before 11pm local time on Sunday night (7am GMT) and was felt widely throughout the US state.

The quake was at a depth of 10km, GFZ said, but no tsunami warning has been issued yet.

According to local media outlets, it was felt from Homer to Fairbanks, and was especially strong in the Mat-Su and Anchorage areas.

Witnesses described items falling off shelves and feeling a rolling motion, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

In “Talkeetna... long rumble followed by a very strong jolt that flexed the house and sent some stuff on shelves to the floor,” one man said on Facebook. “Then more rumbling. It was a long one. No damage, but the big jolt in the middle definitely rattled the nerves, that one packed a punch.”

He later added in a message: “It was notable for the duration as well as the big jolt in the middle.”

Ellen Betts, who lives northeast of Wasilla, told one Alaskan-based newspaper: “It started out gently then grew in magnitude in waves. It lasted more than a minute.”

There were no immediate reports of damage.