Earthquakes jolt 4 different areas of Alaska
By Associated Press
Jul 25, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Earthquakes jolted four different parts of Alaska on Friday.

Several earthquakes, including one with a magnitude of 5.9, occurred around the same location in the southeast part of the nation's largest state early Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey said light shaking was felt around Juneau, about 100 miles to the east.

An unrelated magnitude-4.3 earthquake was felt in Kodiak. No one reported feeling smaller, unrelated quakes in the Brooks Range region and in north-central Alaska.

The magnitude-3.9 earthquake in the Brooks Range was an aftershock of an earlier earthquake near the village of Noatak in an area with otherwise little seismic activity. Since April 18, five magnitude-5.7 temblors have occurred in that area and are associated with multiple aftershocks.

There were no immediate reports of damage from Friday's quakes.

Alaska Earthquake Center seismologist Natasha Ruppert said it's somewhat unusual to have unrelated quakes strong enough to be felt in two parts of the state.

The magnitude-5.9 quake in southeast Alaska was immediately preceded by a magnitude-5.3 foreshock and followed by multiple aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 4.6.

No tsunami was expected.

Alaska Communications reported spotty outages of cellphone and wireless service in southeast Alaska that it blamed on the larger quake. The company was working to resolve the issue, spokeswoman Hannah Blankenship said.