Adding up Seattle quake damage could take days

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

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SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- The head of the federal disaster relief agency said Friday it may take several days to learn the full extent of damage from Wednesday's Pacific Northwest earthquake.

"One of the things about earthquakes is that it's not what you know that bothers you, it's what you don't know. It's going to take several days, maybe even weeks to make the proper assessment," Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh said.

ON THE NEWS Paul Vercammen: Seattle tries to return to normal after quake    VIDEO Some residents are being told they can go home, but their buildings could collapse with an aftershock. CNN's Rusty Dornin examines the risks Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) 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) CNN's David George examines a new way of reinforcing concrete that provides extra earthquake protection Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     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 Structural damage from Wednesday's Pacific Northwest quake Double dose of woe strikes historic Seattle neighborhood 'It made death a little more real,' eyewitness says Businesses struggle to cope with quake   MESSAGE BOARD Seattle shake-up

The magnitude 6.8 quake was the strongest temblor to hit the Puget Sound area in more than 50 years. Officials attributed about 250 injuries to Wednesday's quake, but only three injuries were serious and no one was killed.

Estimates to repair the damage, however, have topped $2 billion.

President Bush approved Washington Gov. Gary Locke's request for federal disaster aid late Thursday, which includes grants and low-interest loans.

Allbaugh toured the area with Washington officials Thursday. He told CNN on Friday he was concerned that some historic buildings and bridges in the Puget Sound area could be lost, and that authorities are particularly worried about the safety of two major bridges in Tacoma and Seattle.

A major downtown freeway in Seattle was closed Thursday, snarling traffic further in the area.

"We're going to try to address those things as quickly as we can," Allbaugh said.

Six counties have been declared disaster areas. Those counties include the cities of Seattle, Olympia and Tacoma and surrounding communities, home to about 3.5 million people.

City officials said the toll could have been much worse.

"We dodged a bullet on this one, and that's thanks to our being prepared and the community being responsible for ourselves," Seattle Mayor Paul Schell said Thursday.

Officials in Seattle credited a $30 million retrofitting program for buildings and bridges -- along with an earthquake education program for students and residents -- with preventing more damage.

Quake damage was mitigated by the depth of the earthquake and by precautions taken by builders and engineers in the area. Many structures have features designed to absorb the energy released in an earthquake without collapsing. No additional damage was reported from two aftershocks Thursday.

Twelve buildings had been red-tagged, meaning they are uninhabitable. The Seattle Fire Department recommended that another 10 be condemned as well. Another 29 structures were yellow-flagged, a move that warns occupants to enter at their own risk.

Downtown Seattle apartment-dweller Raeann Katz said her 91- year-old building, which houses about 240 people, has been marked with yellow flags.

"There's a lot of cracks, a lot of things that fell down inside the lobby," she said.

Both the Thursday morning and Wednesday morning quakes were centered at least 30 miles (48 kilometers) beneath the earth's surface -- a depth that seismologists said softened the blow of Wednesday's major quake.

By comparison, the 1994 Northridge magnitude 6.7 quake in Los Angeles -- with a much more shallow epicenter -- killed 72 people and caused an estimated $15.3 billion in damage.

Wednesday's quake was centered in the Nisqually Valley, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Seattle, near the state capital of Olympia. Locke said Washington's Capitol building suffered some structural damage, as did the state governor's mansion.

Locke said the Capitol building shifted about three-quarters of an inch. The building was closed until at least Monday, idling 10,000 workers.

CNN Correspondent Rusty Dornin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Washington State Department of Transportation Traveler Information
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