**LIVE UPDATES** Alaska Rocked After Major Earthquake Hits Near Anchorage

Joshua Caplan

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Alaska on Friday, shaking building in Anchorage and prompting terrified residents to seek shelter under office desks.

**Follow all of the events on the Breitbart News Live Wire below. All times in eastern.**

5:55 PM — Gov. Bill Walker says he was in an office building elevator when an earthquake rocked Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska and caused widespread damage, according to the Associated Press.

Walker said Friday he’s surprised the elevator did not stop. He says lights on the control board were blinking and things were falling from the ceiling.

Walker was a child during the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday earthquake that hit in 1964, devastating his hometown of Valdez. He said he wondered if Friday’s quake “could be the one.”

He says he spoke with President Trump and was assured by the White House that help was on the way.

He said water pipes at his own home broke and he stopped there briefly to shut off valves.

5:11 PM —

5:04 PM — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) gives more remarks in the aftermath of the earthquake.

5:02 PM — Scientists say the damaging Alaska earthquake and aftershocks occurred on a type of fault in which one side moves down and away from the other side, per the Associated Press.

Seismologist Lucy Jones told reporters Friday at the California Institute of Technology that the fault is within the Pacific tectonic plate that is diving under Alaska, a mechanism that produces the largest earthquakes in the U.S.

Jones says the type of damage being reported is not surprising.

She says the area in which the quake occurred has loose sediments containing lots of water and when the ground moves it creates liquefaction, or “temporary quicksand.”

Jones says liquefaction can cause damage to structures because the ground moves out from beneath them.

4:41 PM —

4:40 PM —

4:32 PM —

4:22 PM — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shares a video to social media of the clean-up inside her parent’s Wasilla home following the earthquake. “The video doesn’t begin to show the scope,” Palin writes on Facebook.

My parent’s home in Wasilla is usually in tip top shape. Here it is this morning following the earthquake. The video doesn’t begin to show the scope.

Posted by Sarah Palin on Friday, November 30, 2018

4:13 PM —

4:03 PM — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) speaks to reporters about the earthquake:

3:55 PM — Plenty of aftershocks reported. 

3:52 PM — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker makes video statement on the earthquake:

3:49 PM —

3:35 PM — Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll says he’s been told parts of a scenic highway that heads from Anchorage toward mountains and glaciers have sunken and “completely disappeared” following the earthquake, according to the Associated Press.

He says officials are evaluating the damage to the Glenn Highway but some was so significant that it will probably “take a long time to repair.”

Doll also says there has been damage reported to bridges.

Mayor of Anchorage said officials were unaware of any reports of deaths of injuries after the quake shook buildings and opened up crevices and cracks in roads.

3:30 PM — Still bumper to bumper traffic on the Glenn Highway.

3:26 PM — The Alaska Railroad has suspended all operations amid “severe” damage at their Anchorage Operations Center and unknown track conditions throughout the state.

External Affairs Manager Tim Sullivan says the operations center lost power and is experiencing flooding following the quake Friday that rocked Anchorage and surrounding areas.

He says: “It’s tough to run trains when you have no dispatch.”

Sullivan says no reports of track damage have yet been reported, but it will take a day or two for staff to fully assess conditions. Until the tracks are cleared for use, all railroad operations will are suspended, Sullivan said.

The quake was felt 350 miles away in Fairbanks.

3:22 PM —

3:20 PM —

3:19 PM — President Donald Trump issues a statement regarding the earthquake:

3:14 PM — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issues a statement on the earthquake:

3:09 PM —

3:08 PM — The Earthquake left a grocery store in shambles.

3:06 PM — Audio of air traffic controllers at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport urging pilots to fly around after earthquake hit Anchorage.

3:02 PM — The Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage says it has canceled elective surgeries and that the hospital experienced multiple water leaks, according to the Associated Press.

The hospital says in a statement that there was not a large influx of patients after the quake rocked Anchorage Tuesday morning.

There were no reports of serious injuries or deaths and there were no reports of injuries at the hospital.

3:00 PM — The operators of the 800-mile long trans-Alaska pipeline said they shut the system down as a precaution following the earthquake in southcentral Alaska, the Associated Press reports.

Michelle Egan is a spokeswoman with Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.

She says there is no known damage to the pipeline.

She says data will be assessed at an operations center and a physical inspection of the line will be performed.

She says pipeline can be restarted before the physical assessment is complete.

2:56 PM — Alaska Air suspends operations in Anchorage.

2:49 PM — Anchorage International Airport is now open and screening passengers.

2:47 PM — Scene from inside Anchorage International Airport as the earthquake hit.

2:46 PM —

2:45 PM —

2:40 PM —

2:39 PM — Additional scenes from inside KTVA’s studios.

2:38 PM — Raw footage of damaged roads in Anchorage.

2:35 PM —

2:30 PM —

The earthquake that shook Anchorage and damaged roadways also knocked many traffic lights out of service and has snarled traffic, per the Associated Press.

Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the earthquake also disrupted some communications and electrical service.

The Anchorage School District canceled classes for its more than 100 schools and asked parents to pick up their kids when they could.

The district wants to examine its buildings for potential damage and check for any potential gas leaks.

State government offices in Anchorage were also closed so officials could assess the damage.

2:25 PM — The Federal Aviation Administration says operations have stopped at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport following the earthquake that rocked buildings and damaged roads, reports the Associated Press.

FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer in Washington state said Friday it’s not known when inbound flights will resume and that travelers should check with their airlines.

Kenitzer and Alaska transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey say telephone service is out at the airport.

The FAA spokesman says the airport tower was evacuated and flights that could be diverted were being sent to Kodiak.

He says inbound international flights to Anchorage were being guided by controllers at a regional radar approach facility.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker tweeted that he has issued a disaster declaration.

2:19 PM —

2:15 PM — Traffic is at a “standstill” in the Glenn Highway.

2:14 PM — 

2:13 PM — White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says President Donald Trump was brief on the earthquake.

2:11 PM — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tweets that while her family is safe, her home sustained damages. “So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake,” the conservative stalwart says.

2:10 PM — Chaotic scenes from CBS affiliate KTVA in Anchorage, Alaska.

2:07 PM —

2:05 PM — The National Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami warning for coastal zones of southern Alaska following an earthquake that rocked buildings in downtown Anchorage.

The center said Friday that the warning was in effect for parts of the state’s Cook Inlet and the southern Kenai Peninsula.

The warning means tsunami waves are expected.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said it was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake and then reduced that to 6.6.

The quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Alaska’s largest city.

2:00 PM —

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake has rocked buildings in Anchorage and caused lamp posts and trees to sway, prompting people to run out of offices and seek shelter under office desks.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake Friday morning was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Alaska’s largest city.

An Associated Press reporter working in downtown Anchorage saw cracks in a 2-story building after the quake. It was unclear whether there were injuries.

People went back inside buildings after the earthquake but a smaller aftershock a short time later sent them running back into the streets again.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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