A major earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 initially triggered a tsunami warning for the southern Alaska Peninsula. It was later downgraded to an advisory.

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.

A tsunami warning that was later downgraded was issued for several coastal communities after the earthquake struck south of Sand Point.

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.

A rare tsunami warning was issued for part of Alaska’s coast after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck near Sand Point in the Aleutian Islands. A small tsunami wave was measured at Sand Point, Alaska.

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Wednesday afternoon just south of the northern Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The epicenter was roughly 600 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. A tsunami warning was in effect for less than an hour, but has since expired with little signs of damage.

A tsunami warning has been canceled for south Alaska a couple of hours after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck on Wednesday. Follow Newsweek's live blog.

A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Wednesday, prompting a tsunami warning and calls for coastal residents to seek higher ground, though officials later confirmed no significant damage or injuries.