https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/30/alaska-shakes-and-twitter-feels-it/
Alaska shakes — and Twitter feels it
As we wait for news damages or injuries, Twitter has come alive with photos, videos and posts from residents who’ve been doubly shaken
An employee walks past a damaged aisle at Anchorage True Value hardware store after an earthquake, Friday morning, Nov. 30, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tim Craig, owner of the south Anchorage store, said no one was injured but hundreds of items hit the floor and two shelves collapsed in a stock room. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)
By Patrick May | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 30, 2018 at 11:32 am | UPDATED: November 30, 2018 at 1:52 pm
Alaska was rattled Friday morning by not just one heavy-duty earthquake — but two.
Related Articles
A magnitude 7.0 temblor was reported Friday near Anchorage, and a tsunami warning had been issued but has since been canceled. That shaker followed a 5.8 quake recorded 20 minutes earlier, at 9:35 a.m., also near Anchorage.
As we wait for news from the area about any damage or injuries, Twitter has come alive with photos, videos and posts from residents who’ve been doubly shaken.
https://6abc.com/alaska-earthquake-leaves-anchorage-tv-station-heavily-damaged/4800398/
EARTHQUAKE
Alaska earthquake leaves Anchorage TV station KTVA heavily damaged
Ad Duration00:00
Current time01:00Seek% buffered
02:48
Duration02:48Volume
EMBED </>More Videos
<iframe width="476" height="267" src="https://6abc.com/video/embed/?pid=4802300" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Suspect sought for leaving hate messages in Philadelphia. Jeff Chirico reports during Action News at 10 p.m. on November 30, 2018.
Danny Clemens
Friday, November 30, 2018 06:17PM
ANCHORAGE --
A local television station was among the countless businesses heavily damaged in a pair of back-to-back earthquakes that hit Alaska's capital early Friday.
Video shot inside the building housing Anchorage CBS affiliate KTVA showed damage to much of the station's news and production facilities. Ceiling tiles and piping could be seen hanging from the newsroom ceiling, and what appeared to be a large piece of HVAC machinery had fallen from the ceiling and landed right next to a cubicle.
There was similar damage inside one of the station's various broadcast studios, where a pool of water was surrounded by numerous piles of debris. Even in one studio that did not sustain major damage, reporters noted large cracks in the building's drywall.
In a subsequent Facebook Live video, reporters walked viewers through the station's breakroom, which was strewn with debris. A wall-mounted television and a water cooler had fallen to the ground, and a refrigerator had noticeably been moved several inches from the wall by the tremors.
One reporter remarked that the quake had "absolutely destroyed" some of the station's facilities.
The station's tape archive, which included footage of the inaugural Iditarod in 1973, was seen in a jumble on the floor in another part of the building. Various parts of the building sustained water damage, apparently from broken pipes and malfunctioning sprinkler systems.
Despite the heavy damage, the building still had electricity.
The first earthquake, a magnitude 7.0, was centered just seven miles northwest of Anchorage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That quake was followed by a magnitude 5.7 aftershock several minutes later and dozens of smaller aftershocks in the hours that followed.
The quake prompted an automatically generated tsunami warning based on the quake's size and proximity to shore. The warning was later canceled.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/earthquake-hits-alaska-triggering-tsunami-warning-n942256
7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Alaska, damaging homes and roads
Videos posted to social media showed students taking shelter under desks and grocery store items knocked off shelves.
Violent shaking and swaying buildings reported after major Alaska earthquake
Dec. 1, 201805:19
Dec. 1, 2018 / 2:09 AM GMT+8 / Updated 7:30 AM GMT+8
By Janelle Griffith
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Alaska on Friday shook buildings, damaged highways and prompted a tsunami warning that was later canceled.
The quake hit about eight miles north of Anchorage, the most populous city in the state, at 8:30 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Videos posted to social media showed students taking shelter under desks and grocery store items knocked off shelves.
Gov. Bill Walker issued a disaster declaration and said the Trump administration’s response was "tremendous."
Major earthquake hits near Anchorage, Alaska, briefly triggering tsunami warning
Dec. 1, 201801:41
"There is major infrastructure damage across Anchorage," the Anchorage Police Department said in a statement. "Many homes and buildings are damaged. Many roads and bridges are closed.”
There were no reports of deaths. The USGS estimated there was a low probability of fatalities because most people in the region live in structures that can withstand an earthquake.
"We have a lot to be thankful for," Walker said, adding that "building codes mean something."
Much of the damage occurred in transportation infrastructure, he said.
SIGN UP HERE FOR BREAKING ALERTS FROM NBC NEWS
Abigail Burman told NBC News the earthquake shook the wheel bearings off her truck and cracked the stove at her mother's house in the “Anchorage bowl.”
"It actually knocked me down," Burman said. "I had been in the doorway, and I just sat there holding onto the door."
Many of the roads in the area were also closed, she said.
Christopher Helsel, 41, was at work on the east side of Anchorage when desks shook from side to side and computer monitors fell over. But his office in the Muldoon area of Anchorage did not lose power. Still, the experience was nerve-wracking, he said.
"I have been here almost 10 years and have never felt an earthquake as strong as I did today," said Helsel, the brother of an NBCNews.com reporter.
Anchorage Mayor: There has been minimal damage, stay calm
Dec. 1, 201804:33
Lisa Demer was also at work, on the sixth floor of the Wells Fargo Building in midtown Anchorage, when the earthquake hit. Her office was evacuated and had to rely on emergency power afterward.
"It was violent," said Demer, a 23-year Alaska resident, in a phone call with NBC News from her home on the west side of Anchorage near the airport. "I've felt a lot of earthquakes. Some, you stop and freeze in place. This one, there was no doubt that it was gigantic and scary."
The earthquake’s aftershocks, she said, were frightening and frequent; she said she felt about a dozen.
Glenn Highway and Seward Highway, two major arteries into and out of Anchorage, were closed in some areas but were later reopened, Anchorage police said.
An onramp to the interchange of International Airport Road and Minnesota Boulevard, which is less than a mile from where Demer lives, collapsed.
With no significant damage to her home, Demer told NBC News she hoped to spend the rest of the day helping others.
"I still have to check my crawl space. And then I’m going to see if there is something I can do," she said. "I want to see if there’s needs that I can help with in any way."
WATCH: Video shows collapsed road after Alaska earthquake
Dec. 1, 201800:49
The earthquake is believed to have caused four structure fires, and there were reports of some structural collapse, said Anchorage Municipal Manager Bill Falsey. There were widespread reports of low-level structural damage, "but at this point we are not aware of catastrophic losses, which is good news," he said.
More than 32,000 power outages were reported after the quake, but by late Friday afternoon only about 6,000 customers in Anchorage were without power, including 1,000 downtown, officials said.
The FAA announced a ground stop for flights into Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport immediately after the quake, but by 11:45 a.m., some departures had resumed. Alaska Airlines said after a safety assessment it was resuming operations, but some delays should be expected.
Airport officials said some terminals sustained cosmetic damage. Water mains were ruptured and elevators and escalators were out of service.
The Anchorage School District canceled classes Monday and Turesday.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump, who is in Argentina for the G-20 Summit, had been briefed on the earthquake and was monitoring damage reports.
"We are praying for the safety of all Alaskans," she said.
Trump tweeted that assistance would be provided: “Your Federal Government will spare no expense. God Bless you ALL!" The president approved an emergency declaration which authorizes federal aid, the White House said.
Former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin tweeted, "Our family is intact - house is not ... I imagine that's the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake."
Earthquakes are not uncommon in Alaska. Michael West, Alaska state seismologist and director of the Alaska Earthquake Center, said they pick up temblors large enough to be reported "about every 12 minutes or so" but "the vast majority of those are teeny, tiny little pops and creaks in the earth."
West, in a Facebook live video, called Friday’s earthquake the most significant to hit the Anchorage area since 1964 in terms of how strongly the ground shook during the event. In 1964 a 9.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in Prince William Sound, which was the second-largest quake instrumentally recorded in the world and the most powerful ever recorded in the U.S., according to the USGS.
There were six or seven significant aftershocks in the hours after Friday's earthquake and aftershocks will continue, West said.
"This is a reminder, a deep reminder, of the nature of the state we live in. Earthquakes are part of what makes this place what it is," and its dramatic landscapes comes from the changing Earth, West said.
Janelle Griffith
Janelle Griffith is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.
Colin Sheeley contributed.
