DHAKA: A magnitude-7.1 earthquake hit southern Alaska early Sunday (January 24), awakening residents and shaking buildings in this earthquake-prone region.

The earthquake struck about 1:30am (Alaska time) and was centered 30 miles east of Pedro Bay and 160 miles southwest of Anchorage, according to the US Geological Survey, reports usatoday.com.

The earthquake was widely felt by residents of Anchorage, and there are reports of scattered power outages. But the Anchorage and Valdez police departments say they have not received any reports of injury or significant damage.

Anchorage resident Ron Barta says his house shook about 1:34am when the earthquake hit. Barta (55) says the pictures on the walls started moving, but there was no damage to his house and no one was hurt.

‘I was sitting here with the dogs getting ready to go to bed about 1:34 local time. … I felt a little rumble that didn’t quit for about 30 to 45 seconds. It felt like the house moved,’ said Barta, who is married to an Associated Press reporter.

The violent shaking woke up Associated Press reporter Mark Thiessen, who had been asleep for about two hours when then quake struck.

‘I remember the bed swaying back and forth, and loud noises, enough to wake me up even after taking sleeping pills,’ said Thiessen (53).

‘My husband came into the bedroom forcefully saying, ‘Get up! Get up’. But I was already awake, trying to figure out what was happening.’

Barta, who has lived in Anchorage for about 10 years, says Alaskans on social media say the earthquake woke them up.

People were saying on social media that the earthquake ‘was the biggest I ever felt as long as I have lived here’, Barta said.

A tsunami is not expected as a result of the earthquake, the National Weather Service said.

BDST: 1855 HRS, JAN 24, 2016
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