A 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Anchorage, Alaska largest city, on Friday, violently shaking homes and businesses and knocking out power to some residents.
The quake was located about eight miles (13 kilometers) north of Anchorage and struck at 8:29 am local time (1729 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.
The city’s police department said it had caused “major infrastructure damage to Anchorage.”
“Many homes and buildings are damaged,” the police department said in a statement. “Many roads and bridges are closed. Stay off the roads if you don’t need to drive.”
The Anchorage Daily News, reported that the Glenn Highway had closed north of Eagle River because of damage, and an onramp at the interchange of International Airport Road and Minnesota Boulevard collapsed.
The paper said state transportation officials were fielding reports of damage on all high-priority roads including three major locations on the Glenn Highway, spokeswoman Shannon McCarthy said late Friday morning.
The southbound Eagle River bridge is the area of most concern, McCarthy said. A section of highway at Thunderbird Falls has cracked. The Palmer exit off the highway is closed.
Vine Road near Wasilla also suffered major damage.
Anchorage Daily News also reported some injuries due to the quake.
Alan Craft, spokesman of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center reported “scattered” injuries. The hospital was fully operational Friday, and expecting to see some patients who couldn’t make it to Anchorage because of highway delays or closures, Craft said.
A Houston woman was injured when a shelf fell on an arm with a previous injury, fire officials there said. An ambulance was also called for a Mat-Su resident who needed to go to the hospital for an unrelated medical issue but their garage had collapsed on their vehicle.
A tsunami warning was issued for the Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula following the massive quake but was quickly lifted.
Residents of Anchorage posted pictures and videos to Twitter of damage to their homes and stores — belongings knocked off of shelves, broken windows and pictures scattered on the floor.
Local CBS affiliate KTVA posted a video of a room shaking back and forth with panels falling from the ceiling and lights flickering as people hid under desks.
“Everyone just sprinted out of the coffee shop I was at in Anchorage in the middle of a huge earthquake,” Nat Herz, a reporter with news portal Alaska’s Energy Desk, posted on Twitter.
“Car alarms going off, etc. But not seeing any serious damage here aside from random stuff falling over. People going back to computers, meetings,” Herz said.
The Anchorage Daily News said the quake caused damage at the newspaper, cracking walls and mangling ceiling panels.
ENSTAR Natural Gas company warned residents to beware of gas leaks while the main water company said there had been water main breaks.
Municipal Light & Power warned people to look out for downed power lines and said it was seeking to restore electricity to affected customers.
The University of Alaska announced it was closing for the day. “All non-essential personnel should go home,” it said in a tweet.
Anchorage airport temporarily halted incoming and outgoing flights after the air control tower was evacuated.
A video posted to Twitter showed a buckled road on a highway exit ramp leading to the airport and a stranded car.
The Anchorage School District told parents to come pick up their children “when you feel it is safe to do so.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed about the quake and was monitoring damage reports.
“We are praying for the safety of all Alaskans!” she said.
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