Friday, November 30, 2018

7.0 earthquake strikes Alaska: destroys many roads and infrastructure

  • begin quote from:
  • 3 min ago

    Earthquakes common in Alaska, says United States Geological Survey

    Earthquakes are common in this region, says the United States Geological Survey. Over the past century, 14 other earthquakes of 6.0 magnitude and above have occurred within 150 km (93.2 miles) of the earthquake that hit this morning near Anchorage.
    Two such earthquakes -- a 6.6 magnitude quake in July 1983 and a 6.4 magnitude quake in September 1983 -- seem similar to today's earthquake.
    They were at similarly shallow depths, and caused damage in the region of Valdez, east of Anchorage.
    The biggest earthquake that has hit Alaska was a 9.2 magnitude giant in March 1964, an interface thrust faulting earthquake that ruptured over several hundred kilometers between Anchorage and the Alaska-Aleutians trench, and to the southwest.
    17 min ago

    Alaska resident: Earthquake was "the most violent" in 37 years

    "I have been here 37 years and that was the most violent earthquake I have ever felt. It was absolutely terrifying," Kristin Dossett, a resident of Palmer, Alaska, told CNN.
    "It shook like I have never felt anything shake before. It just didn't stop. It kept going and got louder and louder, and things just fell everywhere — everything off my dressers, off my bookcases, my kitchen cupboard. Just broken glass everywhere."
    Dossett described aftershocks rattling the house and causing things to fall over. Her piano moved a foot and a half from the wall during a particularly strong aftershock.
    "You get a little scared because you don't know how big it's going to be," she said.
    Hear her describe the moment:
    27 min ago

    Attorneys scramble under desks in Anchorage courthouse, video shows

    Video from the Nesbett Courthouse in Anchorage showed attorneys jumping under their desks, paintings swinging on the walls and pieces of the ceiling dropping to the floor as the earthquake hit.
    17 min ago

    Seismologist to Alaskans: Expect aftershocks for months, maybe years

    Aftershocks are expected after this morning’s Alaska quake, according to Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist with the California Institute of Technology.
    She says the average sequence of aftershocks for a quake this size is a 5.8, but that it could be larger than that average figure. She advises to expect many more aftershocks from today’s event.
    ”We think the number dies off with time, but the relative distribution from large to small is constant,” and weeks to months later, aftershocks will follow, she explains.
    For example, the last 5-magnitude aftershock that followed the 1994 Northridge, California, quake was three years after the original event.
    There have been at least 15 aftershocks so far for this quake.
    Dr. Elizabeth Cochran of the United States Geological Survey says the Anchorage quake was a “normal faulting event” among plates under Alaska.
    48 min ago

    Map shows where Alaskans felt the earthquake — and how strong it was

    CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar just walked viewers through a map that shows where Alaskans felt the shaking — yellow in the video below represents "strong" and orange "very strong" or "severe."
    A big concern for the area near the epicenter is what's called liquefaction, a process where the soil becomes saturated with water, which can cause it to erupt into torrents and topple buildings and destroy roads.
    Even in downtown Anchorage, a lot of the coastal regions are at significant risk for the potential for that liquefaction to take place, according to Chinchar.
    Watch below: Latest updates on Alaska damage
    22 min ago

    Home camera captures the moment the earthquake hit

    Eric Nelius's home camera caught the earthquake on film as it hit his home in Fairbanks, Alaska — almost 350 miles from the earthquake's epicenter in Anchorage.
    In the video, Nelius' wife rushes to grab her children and dogs as the walls begin shaking and a loud rumbling fills the air.
    The family is now safe, though their possessions sustained some damage.
    Watch it here:

No comments: