Magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits southern Alaska coast

A MAGNITUDE 6.8 earthquake has struck southern Alaska, cutting power to thousands of homes and jolting the nerves of locals in the quake-prone region.

The US Geological Survey, updating its earlier location for the earthquake, said it struck about 1.30am Sunday (9.30pm Sunday AEDT) and was centred about 83 kilometres east of Old Iliamna.

The USGS, which initially had assessed the magnitude of the quake as 7.1, estimated that it had a depth of 127 kilometres.

Earthquake rocks Alaska

There is only a low likelihood of casualties and damage, the USGS said, adding that “weak” shaking from the quake could be felt in nearby cities.

One of the cities where it could be felt was Anchorage, the closest large city, some 259 kilometres from the epicentre.

Twitter was awash with posts — including from Anchorage — saying the shaking was pronounced and prolonged.

“Everyone in Anchorage is awake and on Twitter right? Biggest longest #earthquake of my entire life. Family is all hanging in our bed now,” wrote @jgrenn.

Another Twitter user, @Shelbae97, wrote: “Thank Alaska for that earthquake,” and posted a photo a broken mirror and other household objects flung to her feet.

A local power company, Matanuska Electric Association, said in a statement that “the 7.1m earthquake at 1.30am caused several outages,” including to two power substations.

A local television station, KTUU, reported that about 4900 Matanuska customers were without power.

“Crews have been called in from home to assess the situation and restore power,” the power company said.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no risk of a tidal wave “because the earthquake is located too deep inside the earth.”

The earthquake comes as an intense storm has dumped more than 64cm of snow on New York — its heaviest ever recorded fall.

At least 17 have died in the US from weather-related accidents and heart attacks as the blizzard swept the East Coast from New York to North Carolina.