The Associated Press
SEATTLE: David Arroya, a janitor at Fenix Underground, reacts after seeing damage to the building and to historic Pioneer Square.

Regional damage estimate tops $1 billion

LUIS CABRERA, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

"We need to find out if the damages (to the Capitol) are structural or if they're just cosmetic."-- Dave Mastin, R-Walla Walla, House co-majority leader

SEATTLE -- Wednesday's powerful earthquake was felt across the Northwest, sending frightened people running into the streets of Seattle and Portland. Nearly 250 people were injured, and damage was estimated at more than $1 billion.

The quake closed the Seattle airport for several hours and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people. It also briefly trapped about 30 people atop a swaying Space Needle in Seattle.

"Everyone was panicked," said Paulette DeRooy, who scrambled onto a fire escape in a Seattle office building.

"I thought a car had hit my building," said Sam Song, who owns a restaurant in Everett.

Still, residents counted their blessings that the magnitude 6.8 tremor caused relatively little damage.

A woman in her 60s died of a heart attack in suburban Seattle at about the time of the quake, but the King County medical examiner's office said it couldn't attribute her death to the earthquake.

More than 150 people were treated at King County hospitals, most for minor injuries, county Emergency Operations Center spokesman Al Dams said. Of those, 27 were treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, with six people admitted, three in serious condition.

To the south, 46 people were treated at Pierce County hospitals with three admitted to St. Joseph Hospital, where they were in satisfactory condition.

In recent years, millions of dollars have been spent in the Puget Sound region to remodel schools, buildings and highways to protect against earthquakes.

"I think the city has been very mindful of earthquake risks," Seattle Mayor Paul Schell said. "We have no catastrophic damage."

"We really got off rather easily with an earthquake of this magnitude, because of its depth," said Bill Steele, spokesman for the University of Washington seismology laboratory.

Gates interrupted

Screams erupted at a Seattle hotel where Microsoft founder Bill Gates was addressing an education and technology conference. His audience bolted for the exits. Some people were knocked down by others trying to get out. Overhead lights fell to the floor.

The quake forced operation of the U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service out of its Seattle building onto a Coast Guard cutter, but service was not disrupted and shipping traffic was not widely affected, Coast Guard Petty Officer William Brandon said.

A 2,000-gallon oil spill on Harbor Island in Seattle was contained on land, the Coast Guard said.

There was damage to a number of buildings, including a six-story apartment building that lost a corner of its ceiling, exposing one unit to the sky and forcing evacuation of the other 76 units. Bricks fell from the top of Starbucks headquarters onto cars parked below.

Traffic kept flowing on Interstate 5 through Seattle, but the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a double-deck roadway built on filled land along Seattle's waterfront, was closed as a precaution.

Bricks also piled up on sidewalks of the Pioneer Square neighborhood, the scene of Mardi Gras celebrations the night before that turned ugly, resulting in dozens of injuries.

"Enough, right?" Schell said of seeing the melee and quake in a stretch of less than 12 hours.

He said city crews were examining buildings for safety, and it appeared the city's Opera House at the Seattle Center had been damaged.

Swaying needle

Schools throughout the region halted classes, but many served as shelters for children until they could be reunited with parents. Many businesses sent their workers home. The Boeing Co. closed its Seattle-area factories until today.

The Space Needle -- a landmark dating from the 1962 World's Fair that was built to sway during an earthquake or strong winds -- was closed briefly. None of those stranded at the observation deck and restaurant on top were injured.

Boeing Field in south Seattle also was closed by damage to the runway.

Two Amtrak passenger trains with more than 220 people aboard were halted between Seattle and Tacoma while the tracks were inspected.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was closed from the time of the quake until about 2:30 p.m., when limited operations resumed.

Crews were constructing a temporary aircraft control tower, FAA spokesman Alan Kenitzer said.

He said six of eight structural supports on the main tower were damaged, and all but one of its windows were shattered.

The panic was similar in Salem, Ore., where the House and the Senate were in session.

"The building swayed and I yelled, 'Earthquake!' and jumped under a doorway," said Jon Coney of Gov. John Kitzhaber's office.

In downtown Portland, about 140 miles from the epicenter, the Multnomah County Courthouse was evacuated and employees were gathered across the street while officials inspected for damage.

"Everything was shaking," said Michelle Noonan of suburban Lake Oswego. "It knocked over a wood pile outside the house. Books fell off the shelf."

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