wfn.org | NW Disciples escape serious injury following earthquake

[wshuffit@oc.disciples.org]

Date: March 1, 2001
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

01b-15

	SEATTLE, Wash. (DNS) -- "We survived the quake of 2001." Those
very words will be an entrepreneur's dream. But for Regional
Minister Jack Sullivan of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in the Northwest, they are words of thanks and praise.

	Sullivan reported that two congregations, the First Christian
churches in Olympia and Seattle, were damaged by the Wednesday
morning (Feb. 28) tremor. The Olympia church, located about 11
miles south of the quake epicenter, has visible cracks in the
walls of the sanctuary, he said. Damage at First Christian
Seattle had not been determined.  

	The regional office appeared to escape any visible damage. The
6.8 quake, however, sent personnel who were in a staff meeting,
scurrying for cover. "I thought the roof was going to fall in,"
Sullivan said. "That was the longest 30 to 35 seconds I've ever
experienced in my life." 

	The Tacoma area experienced a smaller aftershock about 2 a.m.
(PDT) today. There was no reported damage, however.

	Regional staff, with help from Bellevue (Wash.) Christian
Church, are calling throughout the day to check on the
well-being of other Northwest congregations and members.

	Elsewhere, downtown areas of Seattle sustained some major
damage, according to the regional pastor. In Olympia, the state
Capitol reportedly has a crack in its dome and the
newly-renovated governor's mansion was damaged.

	Besides the damage to buildings and property, a highway
thoroughfare was closed because of damage, creating traffic tie
ups throughout the metro area. Washington Gov. Gary Locke has
since declared a state of emergency. 

	Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, Sullivan said,
began arriving on the scene Wednesday to determine the extent of
the losses and coordinate clean up efforts.

                                                                 
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