A series of moderate earthquakes as strong as 5.9-magnitude shook the southern edge of the US state of Alaska Saturday off the coast of Kodiak Island, seismologists said.

The US Geological Survey reported that the strongest quake struck at 18:22 GMT in the Gulf of Alaska some 98 kilometers (61 miles) southeast of Kodiak, an island of about 14,000 people that serves as a popular eco-tourism destination.

The temblor occurred at a depth of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) and about 560 kilometers (348 miles) southwest of Alaska's largest city, Anchorage.

Several quakes of magnitude 5.0 or higher rattled the region in the minutes and hours before the 5.9 quake.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the area from the "swarm" of more than two dozen earthquakes which occurred off Kodiak Island in recent days, an official at the USGS told AFP.

Earthquakes and volcanic activity are common in the area, which is part of the "Ring of Fire" where the Pacific plate of the earth's crust meets other continental plates.