A major earthquake off Alaska with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 has prompted a tsunami advisory for the state's southern peninsula.The tsunami advisory was downgraded from an initial tsunami warning Wednesday afternoon after the earthquake struck about 50 miles south of Sand Point,

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Communities along a 700-mile stretch of Alaska’s southern coast ordered residents to higher ground after a powerful offshore earthquake Wednesday, but officials quickly downgraded and then canceled a tsunami warning for the region. There were no reports of significant damage..

An earthquake measuring magnitude 7.3 was recorded off the Alaska coast on Wednesday, July 16, according to the USGS.