Alaska Air (ALK: news, msgs, alerts) canceled 30 flights starting about 11:15 a.m. PST, said spokesman Lou Cancelmi.

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit at 10:55 a.m. and was centered 35 miles southwest of Seattle. The quake reportedly lasted 15 seconds. See full story.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop for Seattle, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Alaska Air, which typically runs 500 flights a day out of its hub in Seattle, was making decisions on a "rolling basis" about the status of later-day flights, dependent on when the airport reopened. The airline diverted four flights from arriving at Seattle.

"We have a number of buildings where we've lost power or have had to evacuate them," said Cancelmi. None of its aircraft suffered any damage, ground checks showed, he said. No injuries of airline workers were reported, either.

Alaska Air has 6,000 employees in Seattle.

United Airlines (UAL: news, msgs, alerts) canceled all but two flights in and out of Seattle following the earthquake. Flight arrivals were canceled until 7 p.m.
http://www2.marketwatch.com/news/yho...0A81707A5B6%7D


AND: Some major earthquakes recorded in the US:

--Feb. 28, 2001: A 6.8-magnitude earthquake southwest of Seattle damages the Washington state capitol, closes Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and injures at least a dozen.

--Oct. 16, 1999: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake in California's Mojave Desert derails an Amtrak train, knocks out power to thousands but causes no serious damage or injuries.

-- Jan. 17, 1994. A 6.7-magnitude earthquake in the Northridge section of Los Angeles kills 72 people, injures 9,000 and causes $25 billion in damage.

-- Sept. 20, 1993. A 5.4-magnitude earthquake hits southern Oregon, killing a motorist whose pickup was hit by falling rock.

-- June 28, 1992. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake strikes in Landers, Calif., and a second, at 6.5 magnitude, hits the San Gabriel mountains. The quakes kill a Yucca Valley boy, injure 400 and cause $100 million in damage.

-- June 28, 1991. A 5.8-magnitude quake under the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California kills two people.

-- Oct. 17, 1989. The 7.1-magnitude ``World Series'' quake shakes the San Francisco Bay area, killing 67 people and doing $7 billion in damage.

-- Oct. 1, 1987. An earthquake in Whittier, Calif., measuring 5.9 and a 5.3- magnitude aftershock kill eight people.

-- Jan. 24, 1980. A 5.8-magnitude quake rocks the Livermore area east of San Francisco, damaging a nuclear weapons laboratory.

-- Feb. 9, 1971. In California's San Fernando Valley, a 6.5-magnitude quake leaves 65 people dead.

-- March 27, 1964. Known as the Good Friday earthquake, an 8.4-magnitude quake near Prince William Sound, Alaska, kills 131 people.

-- July 21, 1952. A quake in the Tehachapi-Bakersfield area 50 miles north of Los Angeles registers 7.7.

-- April 13, 1949. A magnitude 7.1 quake near Olympia, Wash., kills eight.

-- March 10, 1933. A 6.3-magnitude quake in Long Beach, Calif., kills 115 people.

-- April 18-19, 1906. Earthquake and fires level San Francisco, killing an estimated 700 people. The quake measured an estimated 7.8.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/nati...akes-List.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-28-2001).]