Grateful Pacific Northwest digs out from rubble

The earthquake was centered about 35 miles southwest of Seattle and 33 miles underground. The depth helped ease the impact, as the Earth's crust absorbed much of the shock, scientists said.

"The biggest news is there is no news. There aren't any fatalities ... The damage, while serious, is not anything like what people would have expected," Seattle Mayor Paul Schell said at a Thursday news conference.

Two minor aftershocks were recorded early Thursday at the same location -- a magnitude-3.4 quake at 1:10 a.m. PST and a magnitude-2.7 at 6:23 a.m., said University of Washington seismologist Bob Norris.

Neither was widely felt and no additional damage was reported.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh joined members of Washington's congressional delegation in checking out quake damage throughout the region.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said the preliminary damage estimate reached $2 billion.

President Bush declared six Washington counties a disaster area Thursday and made federal money available to help in the repair efforts. Included were King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pierce and Thurston counties.

State Ecology Department inspectors were fanning out across the quake zone to follow up on initial inspections that found no significant damage to area dams.

Roads and bridges also were being double-checked. The Alaskan Way Viaduct, which carries US 99 through downtown Seattle, reopened just in time for Thursday evening rush hour. US 101 between Shelton and Olympia also reopened Thursday afternoon after a temporary road was built around a sinkhole that devoured northbound lanes Wednesday.

In Olympia, several streets were blocked off as hard-hat crews began clearing away rubble and preparing to shore up damaged buildings. The Capitol campus remained closed, idling 10,000 workers -- most until Monday, when officials hope to have most of the buildings inspected and cleaned.

After huddling with state engineers, legislative leaders said they won't know until Friday whether the Capitol itself, which sustained a visible crack behind pillars supporting its heavy dome, can be used. They were scouting other sites in case the Legislature has to relocate for the rest of the session.

Most of the Seattle damage was confined to individual buildings. The old Interurban Building near Pioneer Square was enclosed with scaffolding to prevent harm to passersby from bricks that continued to peel off the structure.

Fences also walled off the three-story brick building that housed the nightclub Fenix Underground Cafe. As passers-by gaped at damage, Ethan Harrington was busy painting it.

Harrington, 28, of Seattle, stood in the rain working from a soggy palette to depict collapsed awnings and a red Volkswagen covered in bricks.

"I wanted to capture the scene before they cleaned everything up," he said.

"Got a card?" asked a passerby. "I might know a buyer for that."

Gov. Gary Locke, his wife Mona Lee and their two children were among those forced out of their homes when cracks appeared in the governor's mansion walls.

Paula Vandorssen, 40, in Maple Valley was driven from her home by a quake-triggered mudslide.

"This used to be my living room," she said Thursday, pointing to a 2-foot flow of mud and broken glass.

Four homes were evacuated Thursday due to slide danger in Tacoma's secluded Salmon Beach neighborhood, where one house was knocked off its pilings onto the beach by a chunk of the 300-foot bluff that towers overhead. The U.S. Geological Survey recommended evacuating seven more.

In nearby Steilacoom, more than 200 criminally insane patients at Western State Hospital were moved from their ward after an inspection found the building unsafe. The patients, kept in a gymnasium under close guard overnight, were being moved into a secure ward Thursday.<