Earthquake jolts Alaska

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Damage minimal but scares residents.

A strong earthquake in Alaska‘s most populous region has scared a lot of people but caused almost no damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 5.4 magnitude temblor struck about 24 miles from the town of Willow. The rumbling lasted several minutes in Anchorage, about 58 miles away.

The shaking sent residents and office workers diving under desks and huddling in doorways and was felt as far south as Kenai and north to Fairbanks, a span of 300 miles.

Janet Herr, an employee of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says the quake was 26 miles deep, a reason for both the minimal damage and the vast area over which it was felt.

Anchorage has about 285,000 residents, most of the vast state’s population.

Alaska is seismically active, and has frequent earthquakes although most can’t be felt.

Which is why it’s rare to hear about them.

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