Anchorage, Alaska, recovering from shock caused by earthquakes that shook buildings and tore roads

ANCHORAGE – Several strong aftershocks left many Alaskans out of their nerves Saturday morning after the powerful consecutive earthquakes that struck Friday. This is what happened seven kilometers northwest of Anchorage, the largest city in the state.

The two earthquakes measured the Magnitudes 7 and 5.7 on the Richter scale – enough strong enough to shake the buildings and collapse the roads and generate a brief tsunami. Warning.

Carter Evans, correspondent for CBS News, reports that despite the damage, no deaths have been reported. President Trump said the federal government "will not spare any expense" for the recovery.

Evans was Saturday morning next to a ramp to Anchorage that collapsed under the mighty earthquakes. There were cars on the road at that time, but everyone escaped.

Saturday morning cleaning and repair work began. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said Friday night at CBS News that the state was just beginning to assess the extent of the damage.

The earthquake shook buildings in Anchorage, but the reverberations were so strong that they were felt up to 350 miles away. 19659007] As one resident of Anchorage said, the tremor continued, "like, forever."

"It frightens everyone, and everyone panics a bit," said another Alaskan, Friday afternoon, students plunged under their desks to shelter when the earthquake shaken the classrooms.

Concerns about possible structural damage have caused the Anchorage School District to cancel classes next week.

Thousands of homes and businesses lost their electricity. The fallen lines were at the origin of a fire in an Anchorage church.

At our CBS station at anchor, shocks dropped parts of the ceiling, spilled material and broken glass.

The main roads in the area were torn apart, including parts of the scenic Glenn Highway in Alaska. Traffic accumulates for several kilometers as cars pass near damaged areas.

Alongside Governor Bill Walker, Evans and his crew were the first to return to the state capital after his evacuation on Friday morning.

Walker was in one of two cities. elevators of the building at the time of the earthquake.

"Sometimes the elevators tremble a little," Walker said. "But then it really started and I thought," Wow, it looks … it looks like it 's the biggest. It's as if something could really cause damage. "

Later, Walker examined air damage with the National Guard of Alaska.He told CBS News that he had recalled the devastating earthquake of 9.2 magnitude in 1964.

"The strength of an earthquake: you can destroy a perfect highway, you can close a bridge. I mean, it was amazing, the power behind what we saw. "

Alaska is the earthquake country and Governor Walker believes that strict building codes have saved lives.

Infrastructure is badly damaged, hundreds of gas leaks pose a new danger and Many road works have to be done, according to the governor, the recovery could take weeks.