A 7.0-magnitude earthquake was reported near the Alaska-Canada border on Saturday (December 6), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was centered about 230 miles northwest of Juneau, at a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6.2 miles). The USGS said it received 555 reports of people having felt the earthquake at the time of publication.
There is currently no tsunami threat in effect, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The 7.0-magnitude earthquake was the only one reported in Juneau during the past 24 hours and within in the past seven days while three have been reported in the past 30 days and 14 in the past year, according to EarthquakeTrack.com.
Earthquakes measured between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude can be felt by a large population, however, rarely results in much damage, according to Michigan Tech via the Sacramento Bee. Alaska is among the states where earthquakes are most commonly reported in the U.S., along with California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
An estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes are reported worldwide annually, however, around 100,000 are felt and only 100 typically result in serious damage. Officials strongly advise that anyone caught in an earthquake should drop, cover and hold on, according to the Sacramento Bee.
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