Seattle tries to get back to normal

GALLERY Scenes from Seattle, Washington, after Wednesday's earthquake

In this story: Not many aftershocks expected 'Like a bomb going off' Transporation disrupted RELATED STORIES, SITES

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Structural engineers and inspectors are fanning out across the city to determine whether buildings are safe after the strongest earthquake to hit Washington state in more than half a century rocked the Seattle area.

One woman's death was blamed on the 6.8-magnitude quake Wednesday and 163 injuries -- three of them serious -- were reported across the state. The rolling movement created by the quake buckled some roads and damaged an airport control tower, disrupting land and air travel. Seattle briefly went black when breakers cut electricity to thousands.

VIDEO Watch scenes from around the city as the quake hit Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Ann Kellan explains the geologic forces underlying the Seattle tremor Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO Rick Harris rode out Wednesday's earthquake in Seattle's Space Needle 328K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     GALLERY Quake damage in Seattle     RESOURCES Major earthquakes in Washington state The Juan de Fuca tectonic plate Major Northwest quakes Major U.S. quakes Seismic image of the Seattle earthquake Is your home ready for a natural disaster?   MAGNITUDE GUIDE Below is an interactive guide to earthquake magnitude and severity: Magnitude: Less than 3.5 3.5 - 5.4 Under 6.0 6.1 - 6.9 7.0 - 7.9 8 or greater CNN WEBCAM: Seattle webcam   ALSO 'It made death a little more real,' eyewitness says Businesses struggle to cope with quake Bush says FEMA on top of quake situation   MESSAGE BOARD Seattle shake-up

Seattle officials say the region appeared to have escaped relatively unscathed from the second largest temblor to strike the city.

"I want to tell the public -- life is normal, they can return to it," said King County Executive Ron Sims.

The quake shattered windows, caused skyscapers to sway, frightened residents and rattled buildings up to 200 miles away.

Construction worker Harold Martin was on a plank in an airshaft at a building under construction in downtown Seattle when the quake hit.

"It slammed us around. We kept getting banged around," Martin said, adding that when the shaking stopped, he and his co-workers got out through an escape hatch.

Gov. Gary Locke declared a state of emergency for western Washington, estimating damage to buildings and roads could add up to billions of dollars.

"A lot of overpasses and roads ... have sunk," Locke said, adding that the governor's mansion had suffered heavy damage.

A column on Washington's state Capitol building cracked during the quake and forced the evacuation of legislators. (Play video)

Mudslides hit Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington, but no injuries or major damage was reported.

Not many aftershocks expected

An expert said not many aftershocks were expected because of the depth of the quake.

Seismologists at the University of Washington and U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was many miles below the surface, deeper than most earthquakes and possibly softening the damage on the surface.

"The earthquake was approximately 50 kilometers or 30 miles below the earth's surface," said Waverly Person of the National Earthquake Center.

Many of the injuries were caused by falling debris. One hospital said some people were treated for anxiety attacks.

President Bush said he was sending Joe Allbaugh, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to the scene.

"My administration stands ready to help in any way we can," Bush told reporters in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he pitched his budget and tax-cut plan.

Grant Ringel of Puget Sound Energy, the largest power supplier in the state, said late Wednesday afternoon that 9,000 of its customers remained without power, down from a peak of 200,000 immediately after the quake.

Dan Williams of Seattle City Light said 9,600 of its 350,000 customers were without power.

Phone service to Olympia and surrounding areas was disrupted and calls could not get through seven hours after the quake hit.

In Richland, Washington, about 200 miles southeast of Seattle, officials said they felt tremors at the 560-square-mile Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Energy Department spokesman Guy Schein said some buildings were evacuated, but there are "no indications of significant damage" at its nuclear facilities.

"Everything will be back to pretty much business as usual by this afternoon," he said.

'Like a bomb going off'

The quake struck at 10:54 a.m. and lasted for more than 30 seconds.

Roadside damage caused by the earthquake

Steve Cooper was standing outside in downtown Olympia and watched the quake roll toward him -- a three-foot swell that lifted buildings, sidewalk and pavement.

When it hit his 1915-era, two-story Washington Federal Savings Bank building, the structure cracked and boomed as tons of ornate stucco tile fell from the roof and upper wall onto the sidewalk.

"You could see everything heave. When it hit the building, it was like a bomb going off," Cooper said.

The quake was centered 35 miles southwest of Seattle, said the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska. But its tremors were felt from nearby British Columbia top Oregon.

Famous Seattle-area corporations as Microsoft, Starbucks and Boeing suffered damage.

Boeing Field, an airport operated by the company that is also the site for the King County Airport, suffered some of the most serious damage of any corporate facility as the quake buckled runways and blew out windows and pipes in the control tower, King County Executive Ron Sims told reporters.

Boeing sent home some 70,000 workers from several factories in the Puget Sound area, where Boeing builds planes like the 747 jumbo jet, so that inspectors could assess damage, a spokesman said.

Microsoft, which employs 20,000 people in the Seattle area, said three buildings at a local branch campus suffered broken windows and tiles.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates was talking about software to an audience of 500 educators from Canada and the United States at a Seattle hotel when the quake caused chandeliers to shake and lights to fall.

He was whisked away as his audience bolted for the exits. Some audience members were knocked down by others trying to get out. (Play video)

Thirty people were trapped for a time at the top of Seattle's Space Needle swaying 605 feet above the city. An hour or so after the quake, officials at the Space Needle said the attraction was back in operation.

Transporation disrupted

The Federal Aviation Administration reported damage to its control tower at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and the airport closed temporarily.

People brace themselves during the earthquake

Crews built a temporary control tower and some flight departures were reported in the afternoon. But FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said it would be days before flights get back to normal.

Tim Jacobson, who works at Seattle Air cargo, described the moment the quake hit.

"The ground felt like it was Jell-O, cars were swaying, trucks were swaying," he said. "After the quake was done it felt like you were standing on a mattress -- not very stable."

A spokeswoman for Amtrak said train service was disrupted between Portland and Seattle and on another line between Seattle and Los Angeles, California.

Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Van Veen said delays of four to six hours are expected and could be longer if inspectors find any damage to the tracks.

Some trains stopped in the middle of their routes, and Amtrak sent buses to retrieve passengers.

Transportation officials told KING-TV that some portions of roads and highway on-ramps in Seattle had been closed to check for possible damage such as cracks or fallen concrete which might lead to landslides.

CNN Correspondents Katharine Barrett, Major Garrett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Washington State Department of Transportation Traveler Information
Washington Emergency Management Division
City of Seattle's Official Web Site
West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center
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Puget Sound Earthquake Origin and Occurrence
U.S. Geological Survey
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USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Global Earthquake Response Center
Berkeley Seismology Lab

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