The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.
Two earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.7 rumbled Anchorage, Alaska on Friday morning, causing roads to split open and people to take cover under whatever shelter they could find.
The first and more powerful earthquake struck 7 miles north of Anchorage, a city of about 300,000 people, just before 8:30 a.m. local time. In buildings across the city, windows shattered, cereal boxes fell from grocery store shelves, and lights flickered on and off. Minutes later, a powerful aftershock rocked the city again.
Officials issued a tsunami warning after the back-to-back quakes, though it was later lifted without incident.
Updated Details on Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake in Alaska https://www.usgs.gov/news/magnitude-70-earthquake-alaska …pic.twitter.com/jJmrKJkg13
Alaska, whose southern region rests under various tectonic plates that slide past each other, is hit by an average of 40,000 earthquakes every year, the Associated Press reports. Still, it’s rare for quakes this powerful to strike so close to a heavily populated city like Anchorage.
“I’ve been here 11 years and I’ve felt movers before, but that scared me s***less,” Anchorage resident Kevin Bartley told reporter Nat Herz of Alaska Public Media. “That’s the quickest I’ve ever seen one come on and the hardest I’ve ever seen it shake.”
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker issued a declaration of disaster, and Anchorage police reported “major infrastructure damage.” No serious injuries or deaths have been reported so far.
Almost immediately after the earthquake, people began posting images and videos of the quakes and their aftermath to social media.
7.2 earthquake here in Anchorage, Alaska. This is a video my dad took from the Minnesota exit ramp from international. pic.twitter.com/1yOGj3yz9q
USA TODAY on Instagram: “A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, causing widespread damage and triggering rock slides.⠀ ⠀ Residents are…”
Footage shows the moment a woman and her son braved the intense shaking in their house as a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Alaska. https://abcn.ws/2E6utcc pic.twitter.com/vqfgXtA50l
BREAKING: Tsunami Warning for coastal areas of Cook Inlet and southern Kenai Peninsula in Alaska after powerful prelim. magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits near Anchorage.pic.twitter.com/PVEsH1fzoU
Growing up in Alaska, we were pretty used to earthquakes. Most lucky to make a blip on the news. This was different. From a friend:pic.twitter.com/TBdiQK6JIX
The questions about which massive structures to build, and where, are actually very hard to answer. Infrastructure is always about the future: It takes years to construct, and lasts for years beyond that.