On January 5, 2013 at 3:58 am ET Craig was hit by a 7.5-magnitude offshore earthquake 63 miles (102 km) west of the town.

An offshore earthquake of magnitude 7.0 preceded the waves, but earthquakes that size strike that area every year or two; only the 1998 one was accompanied by a tsunami.

In recent decades, tsunami researchers shifted their attention to offshore earthquakes, still thought to be the cause of most tsunamis.

A1 A team of earthquake experts published a paper describing how the earthquake off Sumatra on Dec. 26 raised risks of a fresh offshore earthquake.

This was caused by an offshore earthquake but scientists have since learned that earthquakes are not the only phenomena triggering tsunami; a huge landslide can cause mega-tsunami.

On March 11, 2011, an offshore earthquake struck Japan, forcing the resort to cease operations mid-day.

A major offshore earthquake jolted south-central Alaska today, prompting thousands of people to flee low-lying coastal areas for the second time in two weeks.

When a Tsunami struck in 2011 following a magnitude 9 offshore earthquake, the seawalls in most areas were overwhelmed.

The 30 foot high tsunami was triggered by an offshore earthquake of a magnitude 9.0 and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks.

The regions around the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska are also capable of producing large offshore earthquakes and thus large tsunamis.