Tsunami alerts for Alaska canceled after 7.3-magnitude earthquake off Aleutians

A large stretch of the Alaska coast was on watch for a tsunami for several hours Wednesday afternoon after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake off the Aleutian Islands, officials said.

A large stretch of the Alaska coast was on watch for a tsunami for several hours Wednesday afternoon after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake off the Aleutian Islands, officials said.

The warning was later changed to an advisory, which was allowed to expire, with no immediate reports of damage.

The earthquake struck at 12:38 p.m. local time (4:38 p.m. ET), and its epicenter was 55 miles south of Sand Point, a community on Popof Island, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center. It had a depth of 12 miles.

Widespread inundation had not been expected, the center said, but strong currents or waves that are dangerous to people very near the water were.

The advisory covered a stretch of coast from Unimak Pass in the Aleutians to the Kennedy Entrance, which is 40 miles south of Homer.