4th ave and Broadway in Skagway, Alaska. Photo by Mike Swasey.
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake shook the Upper Lynn Canal on Thursday afternoon. The epicenter was about 20 miles southwest of Klukwan between Haines and Glacier Bay and people reported experiencing the jolt from Skagway to Juneau.
Janelle Forsberg and her family have a home at 38 mile on the Haines Highway and they thought there was heavy equipment rolling by at first.
“It was about 20 seconds of good rumbling straight. We have a couple of young kids and they felt it right away too, and it scared them pretty good. It was definitely a bigger shake and sound in the house than we’ve felt before,” said Forsberg.
Danielle Wheeler was on the second floor of a National Park Service building on 4th Street in downtown Skagway when the building started to shake at about 12:40 pm.
“I felt like a backhoe that had been working across the street maybe rammed itself into the building, but that would’ve been physically impossible. So then I sat there for a minute and then gathered my things, as a rational person would, and then I fled,” said Wheeler.
Thomas Pickerel in Skagway thought it felt like ore trucks rolling through town at first, but quickly realized it was a different kind of rumble.
“The dirty dishes rattling in the sink gave it a little extra flair,” said Pickerel.
Multiple aftershocks have been felt throughout the region, none as large as the original quake according to the USGS. Authorities in Haines and Skagway say no damage was reported as of Thursday afternoon.
