Reports coming out of Anchorage, Alaska, indicate that an earthquake registering at 7.0 on the Richter scale, has triggered a Tsunami Warning in the surrounding area. Pictures tell the story of roads being cut up, and civilians displaced. CNN reports that attorneys in the Nesbett Courthouse in Anchorage resorted to hiding under their desks until the seismic showed signs of letting up. This video posted on CNN shows picture frames flying off the wall and chunks of the ceiling falling to the floor, within an earshot of coveted hiding spots.
Nationally-renown seismologists are predicting the earthquake will be felt months after the seismic activity comes to a relative stop. Dr. Lucy Jones of the California Institute of Technology says a quake of this magnitude will often stay in sequence at 5.8 on average. ”We think the number dies off with time, but the relative distribution from large to small is constant,” for months on end, Jones explained.
The National Weather Service's Tsunami Warning comes with instructions for residents of the Alaskan coast to find higher ground wherever possible. The highest ever mark for an earthquake in US history topped off at 9.2 on the Richter scale. Normally thoughts and prayers have little value in a relief effort, but in this case it might be sound to keep Alaskan in our thoughts. We'll keep you up to speed in the coming hours.