Cleanup could take months in and around Anchorage, Ak., after two major earthquakes jolted the region Friday.
Within a few minutes, quakes of 7.0 and 5.7 on the Richter scale cracked apart highways, jostled buildings and shut down electricity. Flights in and out of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport were suspended for hours so the control tower could be evacuated. Schools were closed early. The state’s oil pipeline was also closed off during a damage inspection. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll says some highways were totally destroyed.
Alaska gets a staggering 1,000 quakes a month, according to the state’s Seismic Hazards Safety Commission. For Dr. Owen Ala, it was the biggest he has felt.
A tsunami warning was issued shortly after the first quake, but it was lifted soon afterward with no reports of deaths or serious injuries.
The 7.0 quake hit within seven miles of Anchorage. The smaller quake rattled an area southwest of Redoubt Volcano, about 100 miles southwest of the Anchorage quake.
Photos courtesy Terry Bontrager/KVOE Radio
{gallery}Alaska Earthquakes Nov 30 2018{/gallery}
