(AP)- - Hawaii's governor declared a disaster Sunday after a strong earthquake shook the state, jolting people from bed and causing a landslide that blocked a major highway. Hundreds of hotel guests and hospital patients were evacuated. Aftershocks kept the state on edge.

Gov. Linda Lingle issued the disaster declaration, saying there had been damage to buildings and roads. There were no reports of fatalities, but the state Civil Defense had several reports of minor injuries.

The quake hit at 7:07 a.m. local time, 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua Kona, a town on the west coast of Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.6. The earthquake was followed by several strong aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.8, the Geological Survey said. Experts said aftershocks could continue for weeks.

The quake prompted fears of a tsunami, but forecasters quickly put those fears to rest, predicting only choppier-than-normal waves.

"It rocked us around pretty good," said Jerry Armstrong of Poulsbo, who is vacationing with his wife, Dorothy Gordon. They were in bed, planning their day, when the quake sent ripples through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the bedroom of their seventh-story condominium in West Maui, about 85 miles from the epicenter.

What shook Armstrong more than the quake was the number of people who flocked to the beach in the aftermath, when the threat of a tsunami was greatest.
Within minutes of the quake, about two dozen people milled along a 300-foot stretch of sand visible from Armstrong's living room, while another dozen or so were either in the water or walking along its edge.

They were joined about 20 to 30 minutes later by 45 more people who curled up in lounge chairs or walked around the complex's pool, coffee cups in hand.

"I was seriously concerned," said Armstrong, 64, an electrical engineer now retired from the U.S. Navy. "... They didn't have a clue."

Kailua Kona Mayor Harry Kim estimated that as many as 3,000 people were evacuated from three hotels on the Big Island.

Brad Kurokawa, Hawaii County deputy planning director, confirmed that the hotels were damaged but could not say how many people had left. They were being taken to a gymnasium until other accommodations could be found, he said.

Sudden waterfall

The earthquake caused water pipes to explode at Aston Kona By The Sea, a condominium resort, creating a dramatic waterfall down the front of the hotel from the fourth floor, said Kenneth Piper, who runs the front desk.

"You could almost see the cars bouncing up and down in the parking garage," Piper said.

Kona Community Hospital, on the western side of the Big Island, was evacuated after ceilings collapsed and power was cut off, a hospital spokeswoman said.

At least 10 acute-care patients were being evacuated across the island to a medical center in Hilo, said Terry Lewis, spokeswoman for the hospital. About 30 nursing-care patients were being moved temporarily to a nearby conference center, she said.

"We were very lucky that no one got hurt," Lewis said.

The quake caused statewide power outages. Phone communication was possible but difficult.

Some power had been restored late Sunday in Maui, parts of Honolulu and other places, but many areas remained in the dark.

More than 50 federal officials were en route to the Big Island to assess damage and begin recovery work, said Bob Fenton, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

On Hawaii Island, there was a landslide along a major highway, said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Center. Officials also said there were reports of people trapped in elevators in Oahu.

Julie Corman, of Seattle, in Kona training for an Ironman competition, was jogging toward the ocean for a swim when the quake hit, and barely felt the earth move.

Sounded like train

"It sounded like a train was running right over me," she said from her hotel Sunday night. "It was this rumble, and it was so loud it sounded like the sky was falling, then all this glass shattering."

Corman, 57, said it didn't dawn on her that she was in an earthquake until a huge banyan tree — two stories high with a trunk 20 feet around — began "shaking like an aspen tree."

In an e-mail to friends late Sunday, Corman said two friends whisked her away in a car to an elementary school overlooking Kona to watch for a tsunami.

"A small community formed up there, including a couple who'd been rousted from their beds at a hotel and were still in their jammies and undies, an entire little league football team, and a newlywed couple," she wrote.

"Everyone had either cellphones pressed against their ears or were punching angrily at non-responsive units as they tried to get info on the status of the quake. After finally receiving two independent reports that there was little chance of a tsunami, we headed back to lower land."

Corman, who worked for 30 years at Metro before retiring two years ago, said the experience wasn't as scary as Seattle's Nisqually earthquake in 2001, when she watched the building she was in shake mightily from the 6.8-magnitude quake.

The quake affected travel plans for many visitors, though the state was in its low period of the tourism season. Airports were functioning despite the power outages, though travel was difficult and some flights were being canceled, officials said.

Flights canceled

Sixteen flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport — eight arrivals and eight departures on four different airlines — were canceled for Sunday night and early Monday, according to the Port of Seattle's real-time flight tracker. The tracking system showed flights resuming in both directions for tonight.

People with tickets to Hawaii should check with their airlines if they want to postpone their trips. Continental Airlines, for example, is allowing passengers to reschedule or re-route their flights to Hawaii once, without penalty or fees, if the new trip starts on or before Oct. 24. Refunds for canceled flights also are available.

Earthquakes in the 6.0-magnitude range are rare in Hawaii, though they have happened before. The region more commonly sees temblors in the 3.0- and 4.0-magnitude range caused by volcanic activity.

"We think this is a buildup from many volcanic earthquakes that they've had on the island," said Waverly Person, a geophysicist with the Earthquake Information Center.

The last Hawaiian earthquake this strong struck more than 20 years ago. The magnitude 6.7 quake caused heavy property damage on Hawaii Island and collapsed trails into a volcano in Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park on Nov. 16, 1983.
A 6.1-magnitude quake hit in 1989, according to the earthquake center.
Seattle Times staff reporter Susan Kelleher contributed to this report.