Earthquake Shakes Seattle, Pacific Northwest

Feb. 28, 2001 -- 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.

Cry for Help

Saying losses would be in the billions of dollars, Washington Gov. Gary Locke declared a state of emergency. President Bush, traveling to promote his tax and budget proposals, said his administration would provide whatever aid is needed tohelp the Pacific Northwest recover and that he was sending Joe Allbaugh, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and to invite a congressional delegation to assess the damage.

"Our prayers are with those who were injured and their families, and with the many thousands of people whose lives have been disrupted," Bush said.

The American Red Cross has opened four shelters in the area, at St. Mary's Church in Aberdeen, Gloria Dei Church in Olympia, Garfield High School in Seattle, and one in Tacoma. Also, Red Cross damage assessment teams were "scoping the area" block by block.

Olga Bellido, spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Washington, D.C. said that, based on early damage assessment, she expected approximately 450 people to come to shelters in the Seattle area over the next few days. The shelters, she said, would provide meals, health services, basic first aid and mental health workers to provide counseling for those who need it. Red Cross officials, Bellido said, are monitoring the situation and could open more shelters if necessary.

Assessing the Damage

The quake was very near the location of the 1949 earthquake that killed eight people and caused damage and landslides in the Olympia-Tacoma area.

Seattle Mayor Paul Schell said city officials were assessing the damage. "We want to make sure the basic systems, water, power, communication systems, roads, bridges, that those are all safe and we're doing our work as quickly as possible," he told reporters.

Damage reports were scattered. A fire reportedly broke out in carpet business in west Seattle, and power outages and injuries were reported at two local hospitals. The headquarters of Starbucks Coffee was also damaged, KOMO-TV reported, forcing employees into the street. Some 30 people were stuck in the Space Needle tourist attraction before authorities could evacuate them.

Air travel also was affected, as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was completely closed for three hours and 36 minutes before reopening for limited operations. The Seattle air traffic center that controls high-level planes over several Western and Northwestern states had to work on backup generator power.

The Federal Aviation Administration set up a temporary control center at the airport and told airlines to fly into Sea-Tac International Airport at their discretion.

Experts said there was little chance of major aftershocks because the earthquake was deep — approximately 35 miles below the surface. This, said Bill Steele, a seismologist at the University of Washington, prevented the damage from being worse.

"Because the actual epicenter was 30 miles under the ground, the shaking in Olympia was less violent than would have been had it been shallow," he said.

However, the Pacific Seismograph Network, which monitors earthquake activity in the Pacific Northwest, reported two small aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 1.2 occurring at 3:45 local time 12 miles west of Tacoma and another at 4:50 local time with a magnitude of 2 southwest of Bremerton.

Traffic continued to flow in many areas in Seattle, though there were several traffic jams.

Bridge Damaged in Capital

In Olympia, 60 miles southwest of Seattle and the closest major city to the epicenter, a bridge was damaged. But other than the cracked Capitol dome, most buildings appeared relatively unscathed.

"The most significant damage that we have to a public structure is that our Fourth Avenue bridge is closed indefinitely due to a visible bowing in the bridge," said Cathy Butler, communications manager for the city.

"We have our building inspectors going around town. We have assessed our water supply and it seems to be OK … people are back in buildings and it almost looks like business is back to normal," she said.

Tacoma Shakes It Off

Damage did not appear to be extensive in Tacoma, roughly 15 miles from the epicenter and south of Seattle, according to reports. Emergency management officials reported a roof collapsed at a local high school and several significant road closures. Nevertheless, all hospitals were open and operational in the area, and water and power were still reaching homes and businesses.

"If there are major disruptions [to water and power service] we haven't had any reports," said Janice Brevik, a Tacoma emergency services official.

All Tacoma schools were evacuated shortly after the quake struck, Brevik said, but students were being kept on school grounds rather than being sent home immediately.

Interstate 5, the area's main traffic artery, remained open after the quake, but rockslides and bridge damage shut other major roads.

Tacoma Emergency Management Program Manager Ed Reed asked citizens not to use telephones except for emergencies because phone lines were seriously overloaded.

Gates in Thick of Quake

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was in the middle of a speech at an education and technology conference when the tremor sent people running for the exits. Gates was whisked off, as others tripped over each other in the rush to get out.

Video broadcast on local affiliates showed the stage and large chandeliers shaking, with some items falling from the ceiling.

At the Northwest Hospital in Seattle, the staff had to calm down some of the patients when the earthquake hit, but a spokesman said he had not heard of any major problems. He said the staff was in "minor catastrophe mode."

"We pretty shaken here, but we're alright," said Northwest Hospital spokesman Nick Krivokopich. "It [the earthquake] was a rolling feeling … it felt like it was going on for 20-30 seconds. At first, when it hits, you really don't know what's going on, but when it really kicks in, you say, 'Whoa! Uh oh!'"

Area residents spoke of a rumbling noise and said they experienced a "rumbling feeling," but it took some time for them to realize what was going on.

"I was downstairs with my daughter, and I ran with my son and stood in the doorway," said Tracy Powell, a resident of Port Orchard, Wash. "It started as a rumble and then really started rocking. I wondered if it was really a big one, and then it stopped, so we just stayed put."

The students in Jonathan Nessan's fourth-grade classroom in Seattle dived for cover under their desks when the shaking began, and several shouted, "Earthquake!"

"They were excited and a bit scared," Nessan said. The class was taken outside while school officials inspected the structure. Once they got an "all clear" signal, they were taken back inside. It was "quite an experience," he said.

The quake was the largest to hit the area since a 5.0 temblor in 1995. In 1993, on March 25, a 5.6 quake centered in Scotts Mills struck about 35 miles south of Portland. That quake was the most destructive earthquake in Oregon's history, causing $30 million in damage.

ABCNEWS.com's David Ruppe, Oliver Libaw, Michael James, Bryan Robinson, and Melanie Axelrod and ABCNEWS' David Wright contributed to this report.