Alaska State Troopers said they had closed one lane of the Parks Highway at the crack, located near Mile 258, about 10 miles north of Healy. Troopers said they were directing traffic around the fissure while awaiting repair crews.
Bruce Turner of the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer said the quake hit at 1:13 p.m Alaska Standard Time.
"It shook for a good 30 seconds," he said. [It shook waaaaaay longer than a mere 30 seconds!]
The epicenter of the quake was 90 miles south of Fairbanks, and 45 miles east-northeast of Cantwell, according the Alaska Earthquake Information Center. It was strongly felt in Anchorage about 270 miles to the south.
There were no immediate reports of injury, but Troopers said there were widespread reports of minor property damage.
KCAM-radio in Glennallen reported that fuel tanks in the Interior village of Slana were tipped over by the quake and that nearby highways suffered damage.
Pretty amazing that there was no major damage. That's probably a combination of two things - the epicenter was in a sparsely populated area. And we have good building codes that are enforced - unlike poor Italy.
