Seattle shaken by fresh tremor

Masonry crashed down into Seattle's streets

An aftershock has hit western Washington state following the powerful earthquake that shook the Seattle area and caused damage estimated at billions of dollars.

We will assess whatever damage and we will provide whatever resources are necessary to help the people

President George W Bush

A spokesman for the US Geological Survey said the aftershock was centred about 15 miles (24km) southwest of Tacoma, along the same fault line as the earlier tremor.

He said it was felt across the Seattle region, adding that there were no injuries or serious damage.

Wednesday's earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale and an epicentre about 30 miles (50km) south-west of Seattle, damaged buildings over a wide area from Seattle to Portland, Oregon.

Click here to see a map of the quake area

About 60 people are being treated in hospitals in Seattle and the state capital, Olympia - most of them for injuries caused by falling masonry.

It is unclear whether a woman who died from a heart attack soon after the quake hit will be counted as one of its victims.

Microsoft's Bill Gates was upstaged by the quake

Mark Stanton, a valet, said he watched glass and steel skyscrapers in Seattle swaying and flexing during the tremor.

"I didn't know glass could flex like that," he said.

The extent of damage and casualties is believed to have been limited by the quake beginning deep underground, as well as by the construction of buildings designed to withstand earth tremors.

Nonetheless, the quake sent masonry crashing down into the streets, cut power to 200,000 in the western part of the state, triggered landslides that blocked the river that delivers the city's water suplies and led to the temporary closure of the Seattle-Tacoma airport.

It also trapped people at the top of Seattle's landmark Space Needle, cracked the Boeing field where the aerospace giant tests its planes, damaged windows at the corporate campus of software giant Microsoft and jolted the headquarters of coffee giant Starbucks.

Microsoft magnate Bill Gates, who was giving a product demonstration to employees when the quake hit, was forced to leave the stage as chunks of ceiling crashed to the floor.

State of emergency

Washington state Governor Gary Locke has declared a state of emergency, while US President George W Bush said he would provide as much help as he could.

It was the region's first big quake since a tremor measuing 6.5 on the Richter hit the area in 1965. A 7.1-magnitude quake in 1949 killed eight people.

The tremor was felt in Salt Lake City, more than 1000 kilometres away, as well as in Vancouver in southern Canada.

A separate earthquake, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, shook the capital of El Salvador on Wednesday.

It caused panic among residents still recovering from two devastating quakes in a month. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

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