Sorry if this is a duplicative thread, but I saw no other in MPSIMS. Are you guys okay? That was a doozy of an earthquake – 7.9! I read reports that swimming pools were sloshing way down here in the states. I hope no tsunamis were generated.
i was wondering the same thing. that was a doozy of a quake!!!
fairly shallow as well, i believe i read just a few feet down.
i hope their computers weren’t shaken off the desk.
The worst that there seems to have been was a broken arm (from one of the news reports), and the trans-Alaska pipeline is shut down. Apparently some of the supports for the pipeline were damaged. Fortunately no leaks were reported.
Yet.
It was a doozy though. I’m some five or six hundred miles away and I got shook up pretty good for three or four minutes. Mind you, a good shaking to me means that the house shook and the plant hangers swayed. Nothing fell off the walls and no cracks in our foundations.
I’ve seen a couple of pictures from closer to the epicentre, and it looks like there’s cracks in the highways, and there’s likely to be foundation problems in houses there.
I’ve only heard from honkytonkwillie(Anchorage) and Tranquilis’ sister on the effects there, though. They reported a whoppin’ good shaking, but nothing came off the walls or shelves. 
I got to fill out an Earthquake Intensity Report.
Although the Trans-Alaska Pipeline has been shut down, there are no reported leaks or problems with the pipeline itself. Repair crews are on the way to fix the support members [crossbeams and saddles] that were rattled off the foundation structures. The pipeline was built way tough, so this should come as no surprise to people who are actually familiar with the pipeline. My daughter reported that at our home in Eagle River, Alaska, the tremor lasted for “about 5 or 6 minutes” - that is, of course, an exaggeration, but when you’re in the middle of the shakin’, it seems like it’s lasting for a dang long time! All in all, the folks up here have come thru with little ill effects.
Oh, I forgot to explain - I am presently in Prudhoe Bay, and we felt absolutely nothing up here.
Everything’s mighty fine here. Anchorage is about 270 miles away from the epicenter but we still felt it well.
At the time I was at my parents house with my kids. I noticed the shaking right when it started but I thought it was the kids bouncing around on the sofa making the floor and coffee table shake. When the kids stopped for a moment and the shaking didn’t, a told them to settle down for a second as I thought we were having a quake. Then I saw the hanging lights and pictures on the walls swinging. By this time nearly a minute had already passed.
Thinking it could get worse, we grabbed our shoes and coats and stepped outside thinking it far preferable to witness a collapsing structure from a distance, should the quake be strong enough to destroy the house.
Once outside it was more difficult to tell if the ground was still shaking. It certainly felt like it was, but I thought my knees were just wobbly from being a bit nervous. I felt a little dizzy. Then I spied the antennae on the three vehicles in the driveway. They would shake a little then almost die down, then start shaking again. Freaky.
I was actually quite surprised to find out just how big it was. Magnitude 7.9 is positively huge. From here it felt more like a 3.5 - 4.0. Strong enough to get your attention and give you pause, but not strong enough to dive under furniture. (They do earthquake drills in school here.) The part that was different was the fact that it lasted so long. Usually they’re over in 10 seconds or so.
So, everything’s OK more or less except for me. See, I have this tremendous feeling of guilt for having caused the whole thing. Halloween night, I was talking with a friend who is rather new to Alaska, and I was saying how it’s about time for another big natural disaster of some sort, as it’s been a while. Earthquakes did enter the discussion, however a nice wind storm or a freak 3-foot snow fall to close roads and schools is more of what I had in mind. But I really can’t complain. I should be content that I have this superpower at all, even if it is a bit unpredictable.