SEATTLE -- Thousands of airline passengers were delayed and diverted Wednesday by the strong earthquake that damaged the main control tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The airport, between Seattle and Tacoma, closed immediately after the 10:54 a.m. PST 6.8-magnitude quake and resumed limited operation about 2:30 p.m.

Crews built a temporary aircraft control tower Wednesday afternoon, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer. He said six of eight structural supports on the main tower were damaged.

Once Sea-Tac reopened, only 20 planes were allowed to take off each hour, Kenitzer said.

Planes loaded before the quake were allowed to take off, said airport spokesman Bob Parker. Twenty-eight flights bound for Seattle were diverted to Portland International Airport. Other Seattle-bound flights landed in Salt Lake City and Boise.

State lawmakers, staffers shaken as Capitol dome in Olympia cracks

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- State legislators dived under desks, clutched each other and hung onto doorways Wednesday when the earthquake cracked the 74-year-old stone Capitol dome.

"Help me Jesus," prayed Senate staffer Annette Suillie, 34, as she watched the office windows pop open. "I felt like I was in my washing machine when it gets off balance."

Chandeliers swayed as chunks of plaster and gilt from the ornate Senate ceiling rained down onto empty desks. Screams rang out in some hallways when the lights snapped off.

Legislative leaders wondered whether they would have to find a temporary home for the House and Senate. Gov. Gary Locke, who said books and pictures were knocked off the walls at the Governor's Mansion, declared a state of emergency, freeing state resources and clearing the way to seek federal aid.

Bush budget would cut program credited for saving lives in quake

WASHINGTON -- A disaster prevention program that was credited with saving lives in Wednesday's earthquake was targeted for cancellation by the Bush administration a few hours before the temblor struck.

In the budget proposal it presented to Congress Wednesday, the administration canceled the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Project Impact, saying the $25-million federal-city program "has not proven effective."

When the quake began, dozens of city, state and local officials were celebrating the program's third anniversary in the Phinney Neighborhood Center, an 86-year-old brick school turned recreation center that had been retrofitted under a city program to survive earthquakes. The old building survived with just a few cracks, and the emergency managers helped evacuate all the children to the street.

Project Impact has helped retrofit all of Seattle's school buildings to make them more earthquake resistant. It had identified zones of vulnerability, trained 1,600 homeowners to shore up their own houses and was responsible for reinforcing hundreds of Seattle-area homes.

Late Wednesday, President Bush said he dispatched his new director of FEMA, Joe Allbaugh, to Washington and said: "We will work with state and local officials to provide whatever help we can to the people of the state of Washington."

When asked if his proposed FEMA budget cuts were a problem, the president walked away from reporters. In addition to Project Impact, Bush's proposed budget would cut FEMA's funding by 17 percent, from $2.4-billion to $2-billion.

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