Earthquake measuring 7.9 rocks interior of Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A major earthquake rocked a sparsely populated area of interior Alaska Sunday afternoon, cracking highways and roads, knocking over fuel tanks and shaking rural homes.

The magnitude 7.9 quake, centered 90 miles south of Fairbanks, was strongly felt in Anchorage about 270 miles to the south. It hit at 1:13 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, said Bruce Turner of Alaska and Tsunami Warning Center.

The state patrol said no injuries were immediately reported.

"It shook for a good 30 seconds," Turner said. It did not generate a tsunami, he said.

The earthquake occurred on the Denali Fault and had a shallow depth, said John Lahr, geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. Shallow earthquakes generally are felt over a wider area.

"We expected this would have surface rupture that geologists could see on the ground and study," he said.

Troopers responded to several reports of damaged roads in the area, including a 3-foot crack opened up in the main road between Fairbanks and Anchorage, said Lt. Lee Farmer.

'Got worse and worse'

Randy Schmoker, a metal worker in Porcupine Creek, was in his shop when he felt the ground move.

"I thought, 'Oh good, an earthquake,' and then it got worse and worse," he said.

The quake tipped over a band saw and other heavy tools, his 300-gallon outdoor fuel tank and moved a 150-pound anvil 20 feet across the floor. Schmoker said he's a big game hunter and usually enjoys short earthquakes.

"A charging brown bear I can handle," he said. "This scared the hell out of me."

Earthquakes above magnitude 7 are considered major -- capable of widespread, heavy damage.

In 1964, the "Good Friday" earthquake left 131 people dead in Alaska. Current measurements put that quake's magnitude at 9.2.

A moderate earthquake shook the central Plains earlier Sunday. The 4.3 quake hit about 2:45 p.m., some 30 miles northwest of O'Neill, Neb., the geological survey said.