State of emergency declared

The olympian staff

OLYMPIA -- Thurston County Commissioners declared a state of emergency in the county at 1:34 p.m. today.

The action gives the the director of Emergency Management the authority to begin applying for federal and state aid to repair damage as the county recovers from a 6.8 earthquake that hit the area at 10:55 a.m.

Among the buildings most severely damaged was the Olympian Hotel, where as many as 10 Olympia residents were unaccounted for shortly after the quake.

Workers rescued residents trapped in an elevator in the building that also is home to the Urban Onion and Fireside books. Officials also were trying to decide whether the downtown building was safe to re-enter or would need to be condemned after the rescue was complete.

The earthquake was centered about 10 miles northeast of Olympia in the Nisqually Delta, according to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. It was felt in British Columbia, Spokane and in parts of Oregon 300 miles away.

The Olympian Hotel was just one of many downtown buildings with damage. Skookum Bay Outfitters lost a portion of its facade, a section of the Washington Federal Savings Building fell to the street and storefront windows throughout downtown were broken.

Some of the railing on both sides of Olympia's Fourth Avenue Bridge fell, and there is a visible sag in the middle of the span, said Jay Burney, project manager for the city of Olympia.

The quake took everyone by surprise.

"It felt like the end of the world," said Casey McKee, an employee of the Fifth Avenue Fabric and Clothing Gallery. "It felt very frightening."

At first McKee thought that people upstairs were doing work on the floor, but then she realized it was a quake and ran for the nearest door.

"You learn that when you're a little kid," she said.

As of late morning, Providence St. Peter Hospital reported 35 patients with minor injuries as a result of the quake and both St. Peter and Capital Medical Center were reporting complaints of chest pains caused by quake-related anxiety.

Local home improvement stores with racks of hardware and building supplies fared well in the quake that shook buildings as far away as Portland and Astoria in Oregon. Olympia's Home Depot reported no injuries and as of noon, they were closed.

Olympia Hardware Supply is open for business. Store Manager Jeff Bean said they are a bit of a mess, but ready to start helping people.

Costco in Tumwater suffered minimal damage. There were no injuries reported and nothing fell from the upper shelves. Manager Bob Northrup said the store suffered minimal structure damage, which they are still assessing.

Ralph's Thriftway is reporting no injuries and minimal damage. They are open for business.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

back to main Earthquake Stories index