Earthquake Shakes Seattle, Pacific Northwest

Feb. 28 -- An earthquake rocked the Pacific Northwest today, collapsing walls, igniting fires, injuring dozens and sending panicked office workers fleeing into the streets.

With a magnitude of 6.8 reported by the U.S. Geological Survey , the earthquake was Seattle's strongest in almost 52 years and lasted nearly 20 seconds.

The quake's epicenter was roughly 11 miles northeast of Olympia and 36 miles southwest of Seattle. The USGS called the earthquake, which struck around 10:55 a.m. local time, "major" and said the effects of the tremors could be felt as far as 175 miles away in Vancouver, Canada.

Windows shattered, as many as 17,000 homes lost power, and many buildings showed signs of significant damage. The Capitol dome in Olympia appeared to be cracked.

ABC affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle reported one death — a fatal heart attack in the city of Burien. However, dozens of people were hurt, including 26 treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to spokeswoman Marsha Rule.

She said five patients were in serious condition, including three who suffered "crushing injuries of some kind," and a fourth with burns to his hands and head. There was no word on the nature of the injuries to the fifth person.

Ed Boyle, spokesman for Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, said 36 people had been treated for a variety of minor injuries and many of them had been released. There was never an onslaught of patients there. St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma, the state's third largest city, was reporting at least 11 people being treated for injuries, mostly minor cuts and bruises. St. Peter's Hospital in Olympia, Washington's state capital with a population of nearly 37,000, reported treating one minor injury.

In Lacey, a town less than 10 miles outside of Olympia and considered slightly closer to the earthquake's epicenter, the Emergency Operations Center was activated early this afternoon, said Officer Jeremy Knight of the town's police department.

Damage throughout the town of 30,000 people was relatively minor, with minor water pipe breaks on private properties throughout the town, and intermittent power outages as well. Knight said there were no reports of any injuries or deaths in the town, and that despite rumors with problems with the water supplies, the water is safe to drink without any restrictions.

He also said that the town's building department will be doing an assessment of all of the town's buildings and schools.