Powerful quakes in Aleutians; no tsunami alert

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake followed by a series of strong aftershocks struck in a remote area of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage, officials said.

Geophysicist Guy Urban at the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer says that while the quakes might have been felt in the small island community of Adak, the center has heard no reports of damage. No tsunami warning was issued.

The U.S. Geologic Survey says the first quake was recorded at 6:26 p.m. Thursday and was centered in the sea about 60 miles southeast of Adak and about 1,180 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Over the next hour quakes struck with magnitudes of 6.1, 5.3 and 4.6. All were centered in the same area as the larger quake.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Sean Terry said state emergency officials have not reported any problems on Adak related to the quakes.

The sparsely populated region is frequently hit by large quakes, which often go almost unnoticed by villagers on remote islands.

In July, a magnitude-6.7 quake struck in the area but caused no problems. It was followed by as many as two dozen strong aftershocks.

Two quakes measuring about 6.0-magnitude rumbled under the Bering Sea off Alaska in May but were too far from land to be felt.