SEATTLE, Wash. – The earthquake struck the day President Bush proposed to kill a federal program designed to help communities protect themselves against the effects of natural disasters.
Bush’s budget recommends saving $25 million by ending the Project Impact disaster preparedness program, saying it “has not proven effective.” Seattle was one of the nation’s first Project Impact communities. After the quake, Bush ordered Joe Allbaugh, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to travel to the region and assess the damage.
Most western Washington residents were back to a normal routine Thursday, though dozens of buildings and some schools were closed so engineers could assess damage from the most powerful earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest in more than 50 years. While officials provided an early estimate of $2 billion in losses, Washington Gov. Gary Locke described the state as “really, really lucky” that the destruction wasn’t worse.
Wednesday’s magnitude 6.8 quake was centered about 35 miles southwest of Seattle and was felt for nearly a minute — and as far away as Utah, southern Oregon and Canada. But of the 250 injuries directly linked to the quake, all but a few were minor and none was considered critical.
“We’re just really, really lucky,” Locke said after surveying the region by helicopter. He later declared a state of emergency in Washington.
Two small aftershocks measuring 3.4 and 2.7 were recorded early Thursday — at around 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. PT — but caused no injuries or damage.
Locke said that the millions of dollars the state and cities have invested in stabilizing buildings and bridges apparently paid off. But he added that “many buildings have been declared off-limits” in Western Washington while inspectors go through them. They include school and university structures.
Gov. Gary Locke estimated the financial costs could be high. “We believe the damage could go into the billions of dollars when you calculate not only property damage and the cost of repair but also the economic impact of lost wages, people who aren’t working, businesses not in operation,” he said.
At the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, flight arrivals were still only half the normal level on Thursday morning, a spokesman told MSNBC.com. The damaged control tower was to be inspected before normal operations were to resume. The airport was shut down for several hours on Wednesday.
At City Hall and in skyscrapers throughout the city, people poured into the streets as windows shattered in some buildings, and debris and bricks broke off, cascading onto sidewalks and on top of vehicles.
But while the streets were littered in places, buildings remained standing thanks to a building code written to ensure that structures withstand strong earthquakes.
The Seattle area’s oldest neighborhoods were hardest hit by Wednesday’s quake. Hospitals throughout Puget Sound reported treating more than 250 injuries.()
