Sitkans who felt the ground shaking on Monday (6-13-22) afternoon weren’t imagining it.
As reported by the Alaska Earthquake Center, around 12:50 p.m., a 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck around 37 miles west of Sitka.
The most recent seismic activity in Sitka has centered around the now “historically active” Mt. Edgecumbe volcano, which experienced a “swarm” of earthquakes in April. Natalia Ruppert is a seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Center in Fairbanks. In an interview with KCAW, she said that Monday’s quake was not associated with the volcano.
“This earthquake was on the Queen Charlotte Fault- it’s a major strike-slip fault off Southeast Alaska. We record this type of earthquake once in a while,” Ruppert said. “They are not very frequent, but we do record them occasionally.”
Ruppert says the earthquake center received reports of the earthquake being felt in Sitka and as far as Douglas. No tsunami warning or advisory was issued for the small quake. She says anyone who felt the rumblings can share their experience with the center here.
