Date July 25, 2014 Type Oblique-slip Max. intensity IV (Light) | Magnitude 6.0 Mw Areas affected AlaskaUnited States | |
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Origin time 02:54 Alaska Daylight Time | ||
The 2014 Palma Bay earthquake occurred at 02:54 Alaska Daylight Time on July 25 in the northern southeastern panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. The earthquake registered 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of IV (Light). It was centered on Palma Bay, 26 miles (42 km) from Elfin Cove and 94 miles (151 km) from the state capital of Juneau. Although there were no injuries or deaths, there was significant disruption caused to the Alaska Communication Systems (ACS) and AT&T wireless, Internet and other communication systems.
Contents
Earthquake
The earthquake struck along the strike-slip Queen Charlotte Fault, connecting Alaska's Aleutian Islands tectonic area with Southeast Alaska. The mainshock was preceded less than one minute before by a M5.4 foreshock in the immediate area. There were also a number of other M5 or higher events in the days leading up to the main event, but Alaska state seismologist Michael West stated that there was no evidence that they were related.
Damage
The earthquake caused widespread outages to telecommunications in Southeast Alaska. Cellphone, Internet and other communications were disrupted for customers of ACS and AT&T throughout the day. Businesses in the area were unable to process credit card transactions, and many local websites were inaccessible. Outages were caused by damage to undersea fiber optic cable serving the area. Other outages included the website of Alaska Electric Light & Power, the areas largest provider of electricity, although electrical service was not disrupted.