[at-l] Earth Quake

[KellyGoVols@aol.com (KellyGoVols@aol.com)]

This is from Wkor Channel 7 news in Seattle.

SEATTLE -- A strong earthquake shook the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday, 
shattering windows in downtown Seattle and rattling Portland, for nearly half 
a minute.

There was no immediate word of injuries.

The magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit at approximately 10:55 a.m., according to 
federal officials at the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in 
Palmer, Alaska. It was centered 35 miles southwest of Seattle.

The quake was felt as far away as Salt Lake City.

In Seattle, portions of a brick building front fell onto the sidewalk in the 
Pioneer Square neighborhood. Some structural damage also was reported at 
Bellevue Community College east of the city. The college was closed for the 
day.

A spot fire near a warehouse also broke out in a West Seattle industrial area.

"Everyone was panicked," said Paulette DeRooy of Seattle, who was in an 
elevator descending from the 15th floor from a downtown Seattle building when 
the temblor struck. She and several others scrambled onto a fire escape.

Screams erupted at a nearby hotel, where Microsoft founder Bill Gates was 
addressing an education and technology conference. He was whisked away as his 
audience bolted for the exits. Some audience members were knocked down by 
others trying to get out.

Video of the speech showed the stage shaking violently, and some overhead 
lights falling to the floor.

"This is the biggest thing I've ever felt," said Darcy Nebergall, 24, of 
Seattle, who was at work in a downtown skyscraper.

"It felt kind of like a big rollercoaster going by. You could feel the 
building sway, but you know they're built to withstand this kind of stuff. Or 
you hope anyway."

Windows were popped out of some downtown building, and people who had left 
buildings gathered in the streets.

Alice Ayers, at her Seattle home, said it was "like a giant truck was going 
by. Everything was kind of bouncing."

About 30 people remain at the top of the Seattle Space Needle. Officials are 
checking the elevators before they come down. 

The Public Safety Building and the city Municipal Building were both 
evacuated, KIRO-TV reported. 

An older wing of Harborview Medical Center, which contains mostly offices, 
was closed after the quake.

Thousands of people were without power, especially in the Kent Valley area, 
snarling traffic there. 

Bellevue Community College is closing. It reports structural damage from the 
quake. 

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