7.0 Alaska Earthquake, November 30, 2018, Part One

Alaska Dept. of Transportation & Public Facilities
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I had just said good bye to the seniors at Rivers Bend Senior Center in northwest Salt Lake City following my presentation about our County’s S.A.F.E. Neighborhoods catastrophic disaster response program.  

The possibility of a severe earthquake along the Salt Lake segment of the Wasatch Fault was a major topic of my presentation. I talked about Drop, Cover and Hold On and several response strategies.   For me, each talk I give is real because I have experienced three southern California earthquakes.  

We discussed the 143 neighborhood, public elementary schools that will provide Salt Lake County gathering places for those who have to leave their homes because of damage or other unsafe circumstances. 

There was a lot of interest in how to assemble an effective and age-appropriate 96-hour emergency kit on wheels to transport their essential supplies, like water, lavatory supplies, food, etc.   (see article on 96-hour kits.)

I had just loaded my show ‘n tell items and set out for home when I heard the news:  A 7.0 magnitude quake had just hit outside of Anchorage, Alaska and warnings were being broadcast that a tsunami may follow.  My first thoughts were for my cousin and her family.  

I later learned that she and her husband had been in SLC visiting grand-children and were awaiting their scheduled flight home when they got the call from their son, home alone in Anchorage.   He was okay, but there was a lot of breakage in their house.  No flights to Anchorage today—the airport was shutdown.   I asked her:  is she relieved to be out of Anchorage or is it more stressful because they are here, separated from their son.  It was the latter.  

I had no idea that Alaska averages 40,000 earthquakes per year, with more large quakes than all the other states combined.

Here is an Alaskan geology lesson:  Southern Alaska, where Anchorage is located, has a high risk of earthquakes due to tectonic plates sliding past each other --under the region.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Pacific plate is sliding northwestward and plunges beneath the North American plate in southern Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.

I learned that a number of major quakes (those over 7.0) have hit the southern region in the six decades following their monster 9.2 quake of 1964. *   Just last January a 7.9 quake struck southeast of Kodiak Island.  So, while today’s Anchorage quake is not a unique event, it is unusual for a high magnitude quake to strike so close to the most populated area in Alaska. 

As of this writing at 5:30 pm, the tsunami warning has been canceled but there have been multiple aftershocks.  No fatalities have been reported but some roads are torn up and unpassable as are some of the bridges.  Hospital damage has been reported with many homes and buildings sustaining damage to structure and/or contents.  Winter conditions are made all the worse by power outages.  Some people have been displaced as a result of broken water and gas pipes because they pose potential threats.  

As with all disasters, this earthquake is primarily a local event depending upon local preparation and response. Resources.  Federal assistance has been requested.  Help at that level will be directed toward recovery efforts.  

It’s a day later.  As of this writing, 6:45 pm December 1st.  The airport in Anchorage opened and my cousin was able to fly home and begin the all-hands process of clean-up in her home.  Still, almost unbelievably, no fatalities.  

* As a sober reminder, that March 27th quake was the strongest in US recorded history and lasted for a terrifying 4.5 minutes, compared to most quakes that don’t exceed 20-30 seconds.  The quake and the tsunami it triggered caused 130 fatalities, many injuries and vast damage.