Story highlights Type of quake and its location helped minimize damage

More than 60 aftershocks follow

(CNN) Forecasters canceled tsunami warnings for Alaska and the US and Canadian west coasts Tuesday after an earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska stoked fears of damaging waves.

The tsunami alerts were canceled "because additional information and analysis have better defined the threat," said the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska

Small tsunami waves of less than 1 foot were reported in Alaska, the center said.

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The minor tsunami was triggered by a magnitude-7.9 earthquake that struck shortly after midnight. It was centered about 175 miles southeast of Kodiak, at a depth of 15 miles, the US Geological Survey said.

The temblor was followed by at least 61 aftershocks, USGS Seismologist Rafael Abreu said.

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