UPDATE, 8:35 p.m.: The tsunami warning that was issued after a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck deep beneath the ocean floor near Alaska's Aleutian Islands, and triggered shaking that could be felt for large distances, was downgraded to an advistory, Reuters reported.

According to the National Tsunami Warning Center, about 200 residents of the town of Adak were evacuated to higher ground, said city manager Layton Lockett. But it wasn't immediately clear whether the earthquake caused any injuries or damage, Reuters said.

Mike West, a seismologist who serves as director of the Alaska Earthquake Center, said the earthquake was so big and deep that it triggered numerous aftershocks. The quake prompted enough shaking that it'll be picked up by seismometers throughout the world in the next 24 hours, he said.

"When you've got an earthquake that big, it rings the Earth like a bell," West said.

Lockett said he and his staff were in their offices when the earthquake struck. "Oh, we felt it," the city manager said. "We felt it in length, in duration and in intensity. We were sitting there for about 20 seconds, then we went outside and it kept going and going and going."

The tsunami warning covered coastal areas of Alaska from Nikolski to Attu.

Original story:
A tsunami warning has been issued for part of Alaska's Aleutian Islands after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck west of the islands, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Associated Press reported.
The National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, said it issued the tsunami warning for coastal areas stretching from Nikolski to Attu and from Nikolski to Unimak Pass.
The earthquake struck southeast of Little Sitkin Island. Initially, it was measured at 7.1, according to the AP.

The NOAA advised there could be dangerous and widespread coastal flooding.

The tsunami warning remains in effect for the coastal areas of Alaska from Nikolski to Attu, the National Tsunami Warning Center reported. Alaska.

This is a developing story…

Tsunami Earthquake