Residents across a wide area of southwestern Alaska, from Kennedy Entrance near Homer to Unimak Pass near Unalaska, were warned to leave right away by sirens and emergency warnings that lighted up phones throughout the area.

“We’ve been hearing [that] initially there was a lot of bumper-to-bumper traffic and people just trying to get you to get off the spit,” said Rachel Lord, the mayor of Homer.

Additionally, officials issued a warning about the possibility of tsunamis striking parts of the eastern Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, and Kodiak Island, with certain regions anticipated to be affected first.

Dramatic photos revealed a frighteningly barren coastline with the ocean abruptly gone, a warning that a tsunami might strike at any time.

A tsunami has been confirmed, according to David Snider, a tsunami warning coordinator with the National