Alaska earthquake: 7.0-magnitude tremor hits US northwest coast

No tsunami alert has been issued after the tremor

An earthquake of 7.0 magnitude struck off the Alaska peninsula in the early hours of Saturday.

The Alaskan earthquake struck at a depth of 10km, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, which initially reported the tremor.

Shaking was felt in Chignik, Cold Bay, Kodiak, and Bethel just before 4am local time.

No tsunami alert was issued, according to the US Tsunami Warning System.

Just two weeks ago on 28 July, an 8.2 earthquake shook the southwest coast of the Alaska, triggering tsunami warnings. No large waves were reported.

It was the largest earthquake to hit the US in more than 50 years, but due to its remoteness, there was no major damage and no reports of any injuries.

The largest earthquake to ever strike the US was the 9.2 quake and tsunami that struck Alaska on 27 March 1964. The shaking lasted more than four minutes and the tsunami waves caused damage as far away as northern California.

A major earthquake also struck western Haiti on Saturday morning and was felt across the Caribbean.

People have fled their homes for fear that buildings might collapse and fatalities have been reported.

The magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 8km (5 miles) from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150km west of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the US Geological Survey said.

Haiti is still recovering from a magnitude 7 earthquake that hit much closer to the capital 11 years ago killing tens if not hundreds of thousands of people and flattening swathes of buildings, leaving many homeless.