Update (1:49 p.m.): (CNN) — A tsunami warning for coastal areas of Alaska’s Cook Inlet and southern Kenai Peninsula was canceled after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Friday, damaging roads and buildings and sending residents scurrying for cover, authorities said.
There were no reports of fatalities or injuries so far.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District said all district students were safe.
The US Geological Survey has reported at least eight aftershocks following the first quake. The largest, registering 5.7, was located in the city of Anchorage.
Michael West, the Alaska state seismologist, told CNN the 7.0 earthquake was felt up to 400 miles outside of Anchorage. West said damage reports across the region are just now beginning to arrive at the Alaska Earthquake Information Center.
The White House said via Twitter that President Donald Trump, who is in Argentina, had been briefed on the disaster.
Two of the city’s main hospitals — Alaska Regional and Providence Alaska Medical Center — sustained damage during the quake, according to hospital officials.
The Anchorage Police Department said in a statement that it was handling “multiple situations” and reported “major infrastructure damage” across the city.
The Federal Aviation Administration implemented a ground stop for flights into Ted Stevens Airport.
“We do not yet know when flights into Anchorage will resume,” FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
Four airports were closed: Ted Stevens International Airport, Adak Airport, Merrill Field Airport and Fort Richardson Airport.
Earlier: An earthquake Friday with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck Alaska, according to a bulletin from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The quake knocked CNN affiliate KTUU off the air. Items fell from shelves at the station, news director Tracy Sabo told CNN.
Social media images show a chaotic scene, including children taking shelter under desks and fallen items tumbling from shelves in a grocery store. Ceiling tiles were scattered across a floor in another photo.
The US Geological Survey has reported at least four aftershocks following the first quake. The largest, registering 5.8, was located in the city of Anchorage.
Reporters at CNN affiliate KTVA described falling window panes at the station’s offices.
“The structure of the roof just collapsed,” one of them said. “We can’t even get into our studio right now. There were computers flying, cameras toppling over.”
The NOAA alert said that “for other US and Canadian Pacific coasts in North America, the level of tsunami danger is being evaluated. Further information will be provided in supplementary messages.”
