Anchorage, Alaska Powerful earthquake

Back-to-back earthquakes rocked buildings and shattered roads Friday morning in Anchorage, sending people running into the streets. The U.S. Geological Survey said the first and more powerful quake was centered about 7 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, with a population of about 300,000.

People ran from their offices or took cover under desks. A large section of road near the Anchorage airport collapsed, marooning a car on a narrow island of pavement surrounded by deep chasms in the concrete.

Several cars crashed at a major intersection in Wasilla, north of Anchorage, during the shaking. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said he had been told that parts of the Glenn Highway, a scenic route that runs northeast out of the city past farms, mountains and glaciers, had “completely disappeared.”