"earthquake"

For many of the residents whose property saw the most severe damage, the Anchorage earthquake has gone from a natural disaster to a financial one.

The 5.0 tremblor struck just after 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Thousands of Alaskans affected by the earthquake that struck Southcentral Alaska last year are eligible for an automatic extension for filing their tax returns.

The step could unlock tens of millions of dollars in disaster relief funds for the state, businesses and individuals who suffered property damage during the Nov. 30 quake and continuing aftershocks.

The figure represents just a partial accounting, with more information still being collected ahead of a formal request by the state for federal relief money.

The Anchorage earthquake was one of the first big tests of a new computer model aimed at quickly estimating how significant landslides and other ground failures will be following an earthquake.