February 11, 2009 5:52 PM
- Text
Hawaii Checks For Infrastructure Damage
(CBS/AP)
Officials began inspecting bridges and roads across Hawaii early Monday following the strongest earthquake to rattle the islands in more than two decades, a 6.7-magnitude quake that caused blackouts and landslides but no reported fatalities.
At least one stretch of road leading to a bridge near the earthquake's epicenter on the Big Island collapsed, Civil Defense Agency spokesman Dave Curtis said Monday.
Several other roads on the Big Island were closed by mudslides, debris and boulders, but most were still passable, he said. The power was back on across most of the islands Monday morning.
"The Big Island is practically all up. Maui is all up. Kauai didn't sustain any damage as far as we can tell; their power has always been on," Rod Haraga of the Hawaii Department of Transportation said on CBS News' The Early Show. "The big problem is in Oahu, where we have 800,000 population." The power grid there has only been restored 50 percent, he said.
About a dozen schools were closed for inspection, but no major injuries or deaths had been reported.
"If you're going to have an earthquake, you couldn't have had it at a better time — early in the morning when people aren't even out of their homes yet," Curtis said.
"I think people, under the circumstances, have remained very calm," he said.
While airports remain functioning, flights have been canceled, leaving passengers stranded, reports Sabrina Hall of CBS affiliate KGMB. Some hospitals and hotels had to be evacuated due to structural damage.
The quake hit at 7:07 a.m. Sunday, 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua-Kona, on the west coast of Hawaii Island, known as the Big Island, said Don Blakeman of the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey.
A government computer simulation estimated as many as 170 bridges could have been damaged by the quake, said Bob Fenton, Federal Emergency Management Agency director of response for the region.
Gov. Linda Lingle, who was in a hotel near the epicenter, issued a disaster declaration for the state, and the state Civil Defense had several reports of minor injuries as aftershocks continued to shake the island chain.
"We were rocking and rolling," said Anne LaVasseur, who was on the second floor of a two-story, wood-framed house on the east side of the Big Island when the temblor struck. "I was pretty scared. We were swaying back and forth, like King Kong's pushing your house back and forth."
The shaking broke water pipes at ResortQuest Kona By The Sea, turning the front of the building into a dramatic waterfall starting at the fourth floor, said Kenneth Piper, who runs the front desk.
"You could almost see the cars bouncing up and down in the parking garage," Piper said.
The earthquake was followed by several strong aftershocks on Sunday, including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8, the USGS said. Forecasters said there was no danger of a tsunami, though choppier-than-normal waves were predicted. The quake struck during heavy rain, though, adding a risk of mudslides.
At least one stretch of road leading to a bridge near the earthquake's epicenter on the Big Island collapsed, Civil Defense Agency spokesman Dave Curtis said Monday.
Several other roads on the Big Island were closed by mudslides, debris and boulders, but most were still passable, he said. The power was back on across most of the islands Monday morning.
"The Big Island is practically all up. Maui is all up. Kauai didn't sustain any damage as far as we can tell; their power has always been on," Rod Haraga of the Hawaii Department of Transportation said on CBS News' The Early Show. "The big problem is in Oahu, where we have 800,000 population." The power grid there has only been restored 50 percent, he said.
About a dozen schools were closed for inspection, but no major injuries or deaths had been reported.
"If you're going to have an earthquake, you couldn't have had it at a better time — early in the morning when people aren't even out of their homes yet," Curtis said.
"I think people, under the circumstances, have remained very calm," he said.
While airports remain functioning, flights have been canceled, leaving passengers stranded, reports Sabrina Hall of CBS affiliate KGMB. Some hospitals and hotels had to be evacuated due to structural damage.
(CBS)
A government computer simulation estimated as many as 170 bridges could have been damaged by the quake, said Bob Fenton, Federal Emergency Management Agency director of response for the region.
Gov. Linda Lingle, who was in a hotel near the epicenter, issued a disaster declaration for the state, and the state Civil Defense had several reports of minor injuries as aftershocks continued to shake the island chain.
"We were rocking and rolling," said Anne LaVasseur, who was on the second floor of a two-story, wood-framed house on the east side of the Big Island when the temblor struck. "I was pretty scared. We were swaying back and forth, like King Kong's pushing your house back and forth."
The shaking broke water pipes at ResortQuest Kona By The Sea, turning the front of the building into a dramatic waterfall starting at the fourth floor, said Kenneth Piper, who runs the front desk.
"You could almost see the cars bouncing up and down in the parking garage," Piper said.
The earthquake was followed by several strong aftershocks on Sunday, including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8, the USGS said. Forecasters said there was no danger of a tsunami, though choppier-than-normal waves were predicted. The quake struck during heavy rain, though, adding a risk of mudslides.
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