Tsunami alerts have been lifted for the US west coast and western Canada after a magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck in the Gulf of Alaska.
The quake and subsequent warning sent the state's coastal residents inland to seek shelter from possible tidal waves.
In Alaska, people packed into high schools and other evacuation centres after the quake hit shortly after midnight local time (9am Irish time).
Officials had warned residents as far south as San Francisco to be ready to evacuate coastal areas but by 5.15am PST (1.15pm Irish time) the US National Weather Service had lifted all tsunami advisories, watches and warnings for California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
Canadian officials lifted one for coastal British Colombia.
In Alaska, residents gathered in shelters on Kodiak Island, the closest land point to the temblor, around 250km southeast of Chiniak, Alaska, at a depth of 25km – considered shallow but with broader damage - according to the US Geological Survey .
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the quake, which was initially measured at magnitude 8.2.
"People are fine," said Neil Hecht, assistant principal of Kodiak High School, which was sheltering a few hundred people."Spirits are high."
Long lines of traffic formed in coastal communities including Homer and Seward, Alaska, residents said on social media.
San Francisco briefly warned residents within three blocks of the Pacific Ocean or five blocks of San Francisco Bay to prepare to evacuate.
That warning was later lifted.
