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Magnitude-6.2 earthquake hits near Unalaska, tsunami not expected

Alaska Earthquake Center

Updated 01/24/22 at 12 p.m.

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit nearly 40 miles south of Unalaska Friday night, officials with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed Monday morning.

Officials said no tsunami was expected for the area. Still, nearly 20 people reported feeling the earthquake on the USGS website.

Jazzmyne Shapsnikoff, a bartender at the Norwegian Rat Saloon, was at the bar when the earthquake struck. She said at first she just thought someone nearby was moving the table with their leg.

"And then [someone] said, 'We're having an earthquake,'" Shapsnikoff said. "I looked at the bottles at the bar and they were shaking. Then I looked over at the light above the pool table and it was swaying. I was expecting it to get worse and [the bottles] to fall off the shelf."

Luckily, Shapsnikoff said there was no damage to the property or to the nearby coffee shop that she owns and operates.

The USGS said Friday night’s earthquake hit at a depth of nearly 27 miles.

Hope McKenney is a public radio news director, reporter, producer and host based in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
Hailing from Southwest Washington, Maggie moved to Unalaska in 2019. She's dabbled in independent print journalism in Oregon and completed her Master of Arts in English Studies at Western Washington University — where she also taught Rhetoric and Composition courses.