Wednesday's magnitude 7.3 earthquake off Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain struck in a region that has experienced a handful of powerful quakes within the last five years.

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.

As per the statement, the Alaska earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 48km, making it susceptible to aftershocks.