( CNN ) -- Alaskans were shaken up -- but not , it seems , rattled -- by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake and more than a dozen aftershocks that struck in the state Thursday . The U.S. Geological Survey noted that the biggest tremor struck at 9:51 a.m. local time ( 1:51 p.m . ET ) , centered some 80 miles northwest of Anchorage . Its large magnitude was balanced out , somewhat , by how far down it occurred -- 64 miles deep , according to the USGS . `` Normally , we do n't have large magnitude quakes this deep , '' said Alaska Earthquake Information Center seismologist Natalia Ruppert , noting that the tremor was felt strongly in Fairbanks and as far south as Kodiak . `` Because it was that deep , it did n't cause as much damage as a shallower quake . '' Still , it was big enough to create messes and cause scares in the state dubbed The Last Frontier . Pictures on CNN affiliate KTUU 's website showed a toppled bookcase and strewn papers in a lawyer 's office , hair supplies toppled onto a Walmart 's floor , as well as cracked walls and floors . The Anchorage School District tweeted out a picture of students huddled under tables in a library as a damaged ceiling panel dangled overheard . Sven Gustafson , principal of Anchorage 's Romig Middle School , praised his students for doing `` great duck , cover , and holding ! '' `` What a shaker this morning ! '' Gustafson tweeted . `` ... Some small damage that will be repaired . '' Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporter Casey Grove tweeted that he was on the sixth floor of an Anchorage courthouse when the earthquake struck , noting that one employee there noticed `` desks were bounding , chairs were rolling around . '' And afterward , crews from Alaska 's Department of Transportation and Public Facilities had to clean up some debris and rocks that fell onto the Seward Highway.Â . While Thursday 's quake may have been big -- and , according to Anchorage police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro , abnormally long -- it did n't come as a total shock . `` Normally , we have around 100 earthquakes in Alaska each day , '' said Ruppert , the seismologist . CNN 's Amanda Watts contributed to this report .
NEW : There are more than a dozen aftershocks from the main quake . NEW : Notes : The earthquake was abnormally deep , felt over a large area . NEW : Pictures show broken shelves , cracked walls , torn ceiling panels . The 64-mile deep earthquake was centered 20 miles northwest of Anchorage .