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ShareJune 23, 2009 — As reports of a strong earthquake in Alaska continue to emerge (on June 22) a Baylor University earthquake researcher says this is not an unusual event in this area.
The U.S. Geological Survey said an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 struck near the town of Willow at 11:30 a.m. The epicenter was 58 miles from the state's largest city, Anchorage, where the rumbling continued for several moments, causing people to dive under desks and huddle in doorways.
Dr. Jay Pulliam, professor of geophysics at Baylor, says the earthquake took place where the Pacific tectonic plate is subducting beneath the North American plate.
"There have been many, many events there in the past so this is not an unusual event," Pulliam said. "It's also a remote region in the Aleutians so the population density is extremely low."
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