Return to Transcripts main page

Breaking News

7.9 Magnitude Quake Shakes Alaska

Aired November 03, 2002 - 18:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook south central Alaska this afternoon. The epicenter was about 75 miles south of Fairbanks, and a light 4.3 magnitude earthquake rocked north central Nebraska near the South Dakota border. No injuries are reported from either quake.
And that Alaska quake happened literally about 45 minutes ago. We're joined on the phone now by Bill Smith. He's at the Totem Inn Cafe in Healy, Alaska. Mr. Smith, are you there?

BILL SMITH, TOTEM INN CAFE, HEALY, ALASKA: Yes, sir.

COOPER: What did you feel in Healy, where you are?

SMITH: Oh, my house was bucking pretty good, and I came down to the restaurant to check on it, and the owner was holding the dishes up on the wall, up on the shelves and the plate jumped out the microwave.

COOPER: Well, how long did this last for?

SMITH: Oh, it seemed like it, you know, about five minutes is what it seemed to me. It might have been shorter. And I think we had one aftershock.

COOPER: One aftershock. At this point, we've heard no reports of casualties. Does that jive with what you've seen?

SMITH: Yeah.

COOPER: Around your community?

SMITH: I haven't heard anything about any casualties. Just minor stuff like dishes falling and off the shelves and stuff.

COOPER: Right, well, this was a pretty major quake. I believe in 1964, there was a 7.5 quake that killed about 114 people in Alaska. Have you experienced anything like this?

SMITH: No, no, this is the worst. We had a 6.1 a couple of weeks ago, but this is the first 7-pointer in a while.

COOPER: All right, Bill Smith, thanks very much for joining us from Healy, Alaska, the Totem Inn Cafe. I hope you didn't break too much -- too many of those plates. Thanks very much.

SMITH: No, just one. COOPER: All right, just one. Thanks very much. Good news.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 3, 2002 - 18:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook south central Alaska this afternoon. The epicenter was about 75 miles south of Fairbanks, and a light 4.3 magnitude earthquake rocked north central Nebraska near the South Dakota border. No injuries are reported from either quake.
And that Alaska quake happened literally about 45 minutes ago. We're joined on the phone now by Bill Smith. He's at the Totem Inn Cafe in Healy, Alaska. Mr. Smith, are you there?

BILL SMITH, TOTEM INN CAFE, HEALY, ALASKA: Yes, sir.

COOPER: What did you feel in Healy, where you are?

SMITH: Oh, my house was bucking pretty good, and I came down to the restaurant to check on it, and the owner was holding the dishes up on the wall, up on the shelves and the plate jumped out the microwave.

COOPER: Well, how long did this last for?

SMITH: Oh, it seemed like it, you know, about five minutes is what it seemed to me. It might have been shorter. And I think we had one aftershock.

COOPER: One aftershock. At this point, we've heard no reports of casualties. Does that jive with what you've seen?

SMITH: Yeah.

COOPER: Around your community?

SMITH: I haven't heard anything about any casualties. Just minor stuff like dishes falling and off the shelves and stuff.

COOPER: Right, well, this was a pretty major quake. I believe in 1964, there was a 7.5 quake that killed about 114 people in Alaska. Have you experienced anything like this?

SMITH: No, no, this is the worst. We had a 6.1 a couple of weeks ago, but this is the first 7-pointer in a while.

COOPER: All right, Bill Smith, thanks very much for joining us from Healy, Alaska, the Totem Inn Cafe. I hope you didn't break too much -- too many of those plates. Thanks very much.

SMITH: No, just one. COOPER: All right, just one. Thanks very much. Good news.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com