At at 12:38 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET), the US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude of 7.3, with its centre in the Pacific Ocean southeast of Sand Point, close to the Shumagin Islands, just south of the Alaska Peninsula.
Residents across a wide area of southwestern Alaska, from Kennedy Entrance near Homer to Unimak Pass near Unalaska, were warned to leave right away by sirens and emergency warnings that lighted up phones throughout the area.