Tsunami warning in Alaska: Population of Sand Point, Cold Bay, and other cities in danger zone

Cold Bay, Sand Point, and Kodiak in Alaska are in danger from the tsunami, which is likely to hit following a 7.3 earthquake.

Tsunami warnings have gone off in Alaska after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Anchorage announced that a warning has been issued for areas from Kennedy Entrance to Unimak Pass. It noted ‘with reasonable confidence’ that Kenai Peninsula Borough locations would not face the impact of the tsunami.

Visuals on social media have shown that water levels are receding, which could indicate an incoming tsunami wave. (Unsplash)

Which cities will be hit, and how many people live there?

NWS shared that the cities in the danger zone include Cold Bay, Sand Point, and Kodiak.

Cold Bay, located in the Aleutians East Borough, has a population of 52, as per World Population Review.

Sand Point, meanwhile, has a total population of 610. It is in the same borough as Cold Bay and the county seat there.

Kodiak in the Kodiak Island Borough has the highest population among the three places, with 5,220 people reportedly living there.

Several posts on X have warned about the oncoming tsunami, urging evacuation, and if not that, then a shift to higher altitude areas. Some visuals have shown that water levels are receding, which could indicate an incoming tsunami wave.

Incidentally, the world's largest, and Alaska's largest, tsunami was on July 9, 1958 and named the Lituya Bay tsunami. After a 7.8 earthquake, the wave rose 1,720 feet (535 meters) above sea level, but due to the sparse population in the area, there were only two casualties in that instance.