The Latest: Alaska's North Slope region hit by another quake

KAKTOVIK, Alaska – The Latest on eathquakes hitting Alaska's North Slope (all times local):

1:35 p.m.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit at 1:15 p.m. Sunday near the city of Kaktovik on Alaska's North Slope.

The earthquake came several hours after the North Slope was struck by the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the region, according to the state's seismologist.

At 6:58 a.m. Sunday, the magnitude 6,.4 earthquake struck an area 42 miles (67 kilometers) east of Kavik River Camp and 343 miles (551 kilometers) northeast of Fairbanks, the state's second-biggest city. The agency says the earthquake had a depth of about 6 miles (9.9 kilometers.)

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12:33 p.m.

Alaska's North Slope was hit Sunday by the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the region, the state's seismologist said.

At 6:58 a.m. Sunday, the magnitude 6,.4 earthquake struck an area 42 miles (67 kilometers) east of Kavik River Camp and 343 miles (551 kilometers) northeast of Fairbanks, the state's second-biggest city. The agency says the earthquake had a depth of about 6 miles (9.9 kilometers.)

State seismologist Mike West told the Anchorage Daily News that the quake was the biggest recorded in the North Slope by a substantial amount. "This is a very significant event that will take us some time to understand," he told the Daily News.

The previous most powerful quake in the North Slope was in 1995 at magnitude 5.2, West told the newspaper.

The jump from a 5.2 to Sunday's 6.4 is significant because earthquakes rapidly grow in strength as magnitude rises, he said. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake is 15.8 times bigger and 63.1 times stronger than a 5.2 earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.