A powerful earthquake off Alaska's Kodiak Island briefly prompted a tsunami warning for a large swath of coastal Alaska and Canada's British Columbia.

The National Tsunami Center cancelled the warning just after 12GMT on Tuesday, but an advisory remained in effect for parts of Canada's west coast.

Tsunami watches for the US west coast were also cancelled.

The quake was recorded about 250km southeast of Kodiak Island early on Tuesday morning.

Following the large tremor, warnings from the National Weather Service sent to mobile phones in Alaska warned: "Emergency Alert. Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland."

Kodiak officials warned residents to evacuate if they lived in low-lying areas and tsunami sirens were used to notify the public.

tsunami sirens going off in kodiak after the earthquake, i usually only ever hear the weekly siren test at 2pm on wednesdays so hearing it at 1am on tuesday is actually terrifying!! pic.twitter.com/ea5y7U6xnf — kylie j (@scarygirI) January 23, 2018

As many people left their homes to move inland, several schools were opened to serve as shelters.

Radio stations in Kodiak cited conflicting witness accounts about water that was possibly receding around the island.

People reported on social media that the quake was felt hundreds of kilometres away, in Anchorage.

Reports said a data buoy in the affected area briefly reported a 9.7-metre water rise shortly after the earthquake hit, but other reports predicted waves of no more than 30 centimetres above tide level.