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FAIRBANKS, Alaska (CNN) -- A strong earthquake struck 75 miles south of Fairbanks Sunday, cracking roads and triggering mudslides, but there were no immediate reports of injuries, officials said.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake's preliminary magnitude at 7.9.
"We have heard of items being knocked off shelves," geophysicist Dale Grant said.
The earthquake happened at 1:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. ET) and was felt throughout the state, the Alaska Earthquake Information Center reported. It was centered 45 miles east-northeast of Cantwell in the interior of the state near Mount McKinley, North America's tallest peak.
The earthquake triggered detection systems at the trans-Alaska pipeline, prompting operators to shut it down, The Associated Press reported. Crews are reportedly checking the 800 mile pipeline for damage, but none has been detected.
The area is not heavily populated, and there are rarely tourists this time of year. The quake was a shallow one, centered about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) below the earth's surface, Grant said.
"The more shallow they are, the more severe the quake is felt," he said.
In Fairbanks, a state trooper dispatcher told CNN the quake cracked highway surfaces and triggered an undetermined number of mudslides but that no injuries were reported. A 3-foot crack was reported on the main highway between Fairbanks and Anchorage, according to The Associated Press.
Bill Smith, owner of the Totem Inn Cafe in Healy, a town of 1,000 people, said the temblor broke several dishes and lasted "about five minutes, four minutes, with the aftershocks," he said.
Smith said he had heard of no injuries and only minor damage so far.
"At my house, I lost the hot water heater," he said.
The owner of Denali Suites in Healy described things falling off the shelves and said the quake lasted several minutes.
"It was pretty rolly, and it was long. It was a long one," said Judy Hundrup.
She said the area experienced minor earthshaking earlier in the day, leading her to wonder whether a bigger quake was coming.
In 1964, an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 8.4 struck in Prince William Sound, about 75 miles east of Anchorage. The quake caused 115 deaths, 106 of them from resulting tsunamis.
It was the largest earthquake in North America and the second largest ever recorded, according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.
Mild quake hits three Plains states
Earlier Sunday, a mild earthquake centered near the Nebraska-South Dakota state line was felt in parts of three states.
No major damage was reported, but callers reported that pictures were knocked off walls in O'Neill, Nebraska.
The 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit about 2:45 p.m. CT (3:45 ET), some 30 miles northwest of O'Neill, and lasted about 10 seconds, said John Minsch, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
"It was felt in parts on Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota," Minsch said from the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.
O'Neill is 190 miles northwest of Omaha, Nebraska.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/11/03/earthquakes.us/index.html
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake's preliminary magnitude at 7.9.
"We have heard of items being knocked off shelves," geophysicist Dale Grant said.
The earthquake happened at 1:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. ET) and was felt throughout the state, the Alaska Earthquake Information Center reported. It was centered 45 miles east-northeast of Cantwell in the interior of the state near Mount McKinley, North America's tallest peak.
The earthquake triggered detection systems at the trans-Alaska pipeline, prompting operators to shut it down, The Associated Press reported. Crews are reportedly checking the 800 mile pipeline for damage, but none has been detected.
The area is not heavily populated, and there are rarely tourists this time of year. The quake was a shallow one, centered about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) below the earth's surface, Grant said.
"The more shallow they are, the more severe the quake is felt," he said.
In Fairbanks, a state trooper dispatcher told CNN the quake cracked highway surfaces and triggered an undetermined number of mudslides but that no injuries were reported. A 3-foot crack was reported on the main highway between Fairbanks and Anchorage, according to The Associated Press.
Bill Smith, owner of the Totem Inn Cafe in Healy, a town of 1,000 people, said the temblor broke several dishes and lasted "about five minutes, four minutes, with the aftershocks," he said.
Smith said he had heard of no injuries and only minor damage so far.
"At my house, I lost the hot water heater," he said.
The owner of Denali Suites in Healy described things falling off the shelves and said the quake lasted several minutes.
"It was pretty rolly, and it was long. It was a long one," said Judy Hundrup.
She said the area experienced minor earthshaking earlier in the day, leading her to wonder whether a bigger quake was coming.
In 1964, an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 8.4 struck in Prince William Sound, about 75 miles east of Anchorage. The quake caused 115 deaths, 106 of them from resulting tsunamis.
It was the largest earthquake in North America and the second largest ever recorded, according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.
Mild quake hits three Plains states
Earlier Sunday, a mild earthquake centered near the Nebraska-South Dakota state line was felt in parts of three states.
No major damage was reported, but callers reported that pictures were knocked off walls in O'Neill, Nebraska.
The 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit about 2:45 p.m. CT (3:45 ET), some 30 miles northwest of O'Neill, and lasted about 10 seconds, said John Minsch, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
"It was felt in parts on Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota," Minsch said from the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.
O'Neill is 190 miles northwest of Omaha, Nebraska.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/11/03/earthquakes.us/index.html
Now that would worry me... OK I don't envy you. Did you feel anything Hx?
