Alaska hit by powerful earthquake, buildings damaged

A powerful earthquake rocked Anchorage on Friday, violently shaking homes and businesses, sending scared residents into the streets and damaging buildings in Alaska's largest city.

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at 8:29 am (1729 GMT), in the middle of the school run and as workers were heading out for the day.

Several people were wounded, mainly from broken glass and falling objects, but no deaths were reported, according to US media.

The epicenter of the quake was about eight miles (13 kilometers) north of Anchorage at a depth of 25 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.

(A vehicle is shown trapped in the damage of a collapsed roadway after the earthquake / AFP)

Police in the city of around 300,000 said it had caused “major infrastructure damage.” “Many homes and buildings are damaged,” the police department said in a statement.

“Car alarms going off, etc. But not seeing any serious damage here aside from random stuff falling over. People going back to computers, meetings.” Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said the authorities were worried about access to power following the quake.

“It's winter. It's cold. It's dark. And we're not sure what the power situation is,” she said. “We're worried about breaks in gas lines.”

Alaska was hit by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake in March 1964, the strongest ever recorded in North America. It left 139 people dead.

(AFP)