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A major earthquake rocked a sparsely populated area of interior Alaska, U.S. on Sunday, knocking over fuel tanks, damaging highways and shaking rural homes.
The magnitude 7.9 quake, centered 90 miles south of Fairbanks, was strongly felt in Anchorage about 270 miles to the south. It hit at 1:13 p.m Alaska Standard Time, said Bruce Turner of Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.
The state patrol said no injuries were immediately reported.
The earthquake occurred on the Denali Fault and had a shallow depth, said John Lahr, geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. Shallow earthquakes generally are felt over a wider area.
KCAM-radio in Glennallen reported that fuel tanks in the village of Slana were tipped over and nearby highways were damaged.
Paul Whitmore of tsunami warning center said the highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks was damaged and Alaska State Troopers closed the road to one lane.
Earthquakes above magnitude 7 are considered major ¡ª capable of widespread, heavy damage.
The "Good Friday" earthquake in Alaska that left 131 people dead in 1964 measured 8.5 on Richter scale. Current measures put the magnitude at 9.2.
A moderate earthquake shook the central Plains earlier Sunday. The 4.3 quake hit about 2:45 p.m., some 30 miles northwest of O'Neill, Neb., the geological survey said.
(People’s Daily November 4, 2002)
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