A lightly populated stretch of Alaska ’s southern coast was under a tsunami warning Wednesday after a strong earthquake was felt throughout the region, and officials in the Pacific Northwest were evaluating whether there was any threat to coastlines there. Early measurements put the quake’s magnitude at 7.3.

Just after the quake, NOAA's National Tsunami Warning Center issued Tsunami Warnings for the immediate Alaska coastline from Kennedy Entrance to Unimak Pass, including all of Kodiak Island, Chignik and Cold Bay. The U.S. Coast Guard reported it evacuated personnel from its base at Kodiak to higher ground and had two air crews stand ready to assist.

Communities along a 700-mile stretch of Alaska’s southern coast ordered their residents to higher ground after a powerful earthquake, but officials quickly downgraded and then canceled a tsunami warning in the area.