This aerial photo shows damage at the Glenn Highway near Mirror Lake after earthquakes in the Anchorage area, Alaska, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.7 shattered highways and rocked buildings Friday in Anchorage and the surrounding area, sending people running into the streets and briefly triggering a tsunami warning for islands and coastal areas south of the city. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Latest on Alaska earthquake (all times local):
9:55 a.m.
The Alaska Department of Transportation has all of its inspectors in the Anchorage area Saturday to conduct bridge inspections following the 7.0 earthquake that caused highway damage mostly north of the city.
Officials say there are 40 sites in the area with some type of damage, and eight of those are considered major.
The major damage is mostly to highways or ramps getting on or off the Glenn Highway north of Anchorage. There's also damage at the interchange of the Glenn and Parks highways.
Rock falls exacerbated by hundreds of aftershocks are causing some problems on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage.
Officials say in a release that the aftershocks continue to contribute to settling and additional cracking.
Department spokesman Meadow Bailey tells The Associated Press that normal operations have resumed at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
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8:20 a.m.
Strong aftershocks from Alaska's magnitude 7.0 earthquake continued Saturday around Anchorage, jolting people awake and pummeling already frayed nerves.
The U.S. Geological Survey says there have been 545 aftershocks, including a 5.7 magnitude shaker that followed Friday's big quake almost immediately.
Geophysicist Paul Caruso says 11 aftershocks have had magnitudes of 4.5 or greater. He says there should be fewer and weaker aftershocks in the coming days, but officials can't say for sure when they will stop.
Friday's quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Anchorage. There have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries.
President Donald Trump late Friday declared an emergency for the earthquake, which allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
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12 a.m.
Two strong earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.7 ripped apart highways, cracked buildings and rattled people's nerves around Anchorage.
The quakes on Friday broke store windows, opened cracks in a two-story building downtown, disrupted electrical service and disabled traffic lights, snarling traffic.
There were no reports of any deaths or serious injuries.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the first and more powerful quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, with a population of about 300,000.
People ran from their offices and into the streets or took cover under desks as the ground shook for about 30 seconds.
Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll says parts of Glenn Highway, a scenic route that runs northeast of the city, had "completely disappeared."
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