Trans-Alaska Pipeline damaged by earthquake
This is what I was afraid of. They need to fix it within 3 days, or the oil will cool and congeal...
The quake triggered the trans-Alaska pipeline's automatic detection system, said Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. spokesman Mike Heatwole. Operators then manually shut the pipeline down shortly after 2 p.m.
The company reported the pipe was intact but support structures were damaged in an area 48 miles south of Delta.
In five locations, vertical support members, the H-shape devises that hold the aboveground portions of the pipeline, were damaged. In eight locations, the "shoes" that connect the pipeline to the vertical support members were on the ground, leaving the pipeline suspended, Heatwole said.
Repair crews were working to alleviate stress on the pipeline with cribbing structures, Heatwole said.
"We'll also be mobilizing several additional crews at first light," Heatwole said.
Heatwole said company officials should may know by midmorning Monday how long it will take to restart the pipeline. He did not know whether North Slope crude oil deliveries would be disrupted.
The quake was felt in Seattle...
In Seattle, some houseboats on Lake Union shook loose from their moorings during the earthquake more than 1,400 miles to the north. Power was cut off to one houseboat, and others slammed into docks. The Center for Wooden Boats on the lake's south shore was shaken off its sewage pipe, leaving it without a working bathroom. No one was hurt.
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