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.

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Alaska on Wednesday afternoon and a tsunami warning was canceled two hours later for the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island.