The 7.0 magnitude quake struck about 8 miles (13 km) north of Anchorage, a city of 300,000 residents accounting for about 40 percent of Alaska’s population, and was followed by dozens of aftershocks that continued to rattle nerves throughout the day.
Major damage after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Alaska WATCH
The earthquake caused severe damage throughout the city, leading to evacuations in offices and schools, power outages in several parts of the city and the collapse of several bridges.
Moreover, the earthquake and the two aftershocks pushed the National Weather Service to issue a tsunami warning in the area of Cook Inlet, south of Anchorage, which was subsequently canceled.
At least two local television stations were briefly knocked off the air by the tremor, which some people said sounded like a roar of gunfire.
Roads and bridges appeared to have been hardest hit, but Anchorage was otherwise mostly spared from major structural damage, authorities said. Power outages and disruption of phone service were widespread.