Moderate to strong quakes strike western Aleutian Islands and offshore

AMCHITKA ISLAND, Alaska — A series of moderate to strong earthquakes struck the western Aleutian Islands and offshore areas of Alaska on Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the area around the islands of Adak, Amchitka and Kiska, about 1,400 miles west of Anchorage. Of the three outlying islands, only Adak Island, with about 300 inhabitants, is inhabited.

Nine earthquakes with a magnitude of at least magnitude 5.0 struck on or near the islands and in a cluster off the coast to the south Sunday morning and afternoon, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.

Three of the earthquakes had a magnitude of 6.0 or stronger, while the largest had a magnitude of 6.3 at sea.

“We are monitoring these events and their aftershocks, and will update when we have more information about the nature of this seismic activity,” the earthquake center said in a post on social media site X.

The earthquakes didn’t seem to have anything to do with it recent seismic activity at a volcano near Anchorage that last erupted in 1992.

Much of Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands, lies on the Ring of Fire, a seismically and volcanically active zone that surrounds most of the Pacific Ocean.