Great Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Strong Earthquake jolts Anchorage Alaska
By RACHEL D'ORO (AP)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An earthquake jolted Anchorage on Monday and was
felt well beyond Alaska's largest city.
The 4.9 magnitude quake struck at 1:24 p.m. about 10 miles southwest of
Anchorage, according to earthquake monitors.
There were no reports of injury or damage, but people reported that the
earthquake "shook awful hard," said Cindi Preller, a geologist with the
West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.
One man who was standing close to the epicenter also had been through
the 9.2 magnitude quake that struck Alaska's Prince William Sound in
1964, Preller said. That quake, the second-largest in recorded history,
triggered a tsunami and left about 130 people dead.
"He was pretty rattled," Preller said of the caller. "It kind of shook
back some of those memories."
The temblor was felt over a vast area in the state, including
Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, Valdez and Homer. It was not expected to
generate a tsunami.
In Anchorage, Lisa Withers initially thought a car had hit the building
of the gift shop she manages inside Bell's Nursery, which carries a
large selection of dishes and other breakables.
"Some flatware pieces fell off the stands," Withers said. "A few
customers were nervous about the noise of glassware rattling."
Anchorage had reports of the strongest shaking, according to the Alaska
Earthquake Information Center. A few residents reported that objects
fell off shelves, and furniture and heavy appliances shifted, said
state seismologist Roger Hansen, director of the center.
The initial magnitude given was preliminary only and Preller said it
could turn out to be a magnitude 5.0 quake.