Alaska faced an earthquake of magnitude 7 on Friday morning that left the people in panic forcing them out into the streets. Many of them witnessed the roads crumble before their eyes. Earthquakes are not new to Alaska because it faces these annually, the numbers are more than the total of the remaining 49 states. The southern part of the state is more prone due to the presence of underground tectonic plates that slide past each other. Republican Rep. Donald Young carried out an initial assessment. It revealed that the quake was not deadly and, fortunately, there were “no deaths at this time that we know of.”

Fox News reports that while there are no casualties, there has been damage to the infrastructure with power lines down in many places and road communication disrupted.

As Republican Sen.Lisa Murkowski said, concerns of recovery efforts and safety were of prime importance because many homes are without power. In case gas lines are broken, that could lead to further complications.

Earthquake leaves the infrastructure in tatters

Reacting to the disaster, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan admits that Alaska has witnessed some major aftershocks, but this one was “a big one” with a direct impact on transportation. Communication links are broken in many places with damage to most of the highways in and out of Anchorage. This will pose problems because most goods come into Alaska via Anchorage.

Dan Sullivan went on to add that in spite of damage to roads and bridges from the earthquake, there are no reports of the collapse of buildings.

It seems portions of a highway has "completely disappeared.” It connects Anchorage with the mountains and glaciers and restoring the communication network of highways and bridges will take time.

Tsunami warning canceled

According to New Zealand Herald, the system generates tsunami warnings automatically and these are monitored.

In this case, there was no evidence to suggest any unnatural activities and the authorities canceled the warning. The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump, who is in Argentina at the Group of 20 summit, is briefed about the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Alaska.

Alaska recorded the strongest quake in the history of the United States on March 27, 1964.

It was of magnitude 9.2 and centered about 120km east of Anchorage. Its duration was approximately four and a half minutes, and it triggered a tsunami that claimed about 130 lives. An earthquake is a natural disaster and catches the people unawares leading to panic. It leaves behind a trail of destruction and rebuilding is a long process.
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