Back-to-back earthquakes shatter roads
EARTHQUAKES measuring 7.0 and 5.7 shattered highways and rocked buildings on Friday in Anchorage and the surrounding area and briefly triggering a tsunami warning.
The US Geological Survey said the first quake was about 12km north of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, with a population of about 300 000. The aftershock arrived within minutes, followed by smaller quakes.
Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said that parts of Glenn Highway, a scenic route that runs northeast out of the city past farms, mountains and glaciers, had “completely disappeared”.
Flights at the airport were suspended for hours after the quake knocked out telephones and forced the evacuation of the control tower.
And the 1300km Trans-alaska oil pipeline was shut down while crews were sent to inspect it for damage.
Former Alaska govenor, Sarah Palin, tweeted that her home was damaged: “Our family is intact – house is not”.
No tsunami arrived and there were no immediate reports of deaths.
Alaska was the site of the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the US. The 9.2-magnitude quake on March 27, 1964, was centered about 120km east of Anchorage. It and the tsunami it triggered claimed about 130 lives. |