[i]At 1:36 p.m. on April 1, 2014, a 9.2 earthquake struck Anchorage. Five hundred and thirty people died during the four minute quake. Another 6,000 sustained serious injuries. The cranes at the Port of Anchorage fell into Knik Arm. Oil tanks ruptured and the docks were evacuated.

SNIPPED for copyright issues. We can post bits but not entire articles.
-Blast

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/03/26/3395634/pr...1#storylink=cpy

(My bad.. I didn't even think about it..)

I managed to read the post before the edit. Really interesting article. I'd be curious to see the AAR from their drill - what can be improved, etc. Would also be curious what their back up is if Elmendorf goes down ...

Wasn't that '64 quake the one that produced tsunami's scattered around the Pacific?

It would be astonishing if an earthquake took out Elemendorf. It would take a bigger quake than what hit in 64.

Should be one heckuva ride. Work is a 7 mile walk from home. I keep a get home bag that, barring serious injury, would be sufficient for my needs. I also have lots of supplies at work, in a building that survived the 64 quake without a scratch, dent or crack.

Given the scale of development that's occurred here since 64, I suspect the amount of property damage to be proportionately greater.

It is in my opinion an accurate assessment that the north and south road access into/out of Anchorage would be destroyed quickly. So to with the rail service. Since there are also no marinas in Anchorage, the only way out would be likely by air.

Hopefully when the big one hits it is during the warmer part of the year. Wintertime would royally suck all the way around.

This will be an interesting drill. The military will be well represented. Sadly, it will not be quite as large as originally planned. I've heard that several non-military entities who were originally supposed to take part will not be playing (I suspect for budgetary reasons). Also, at one point there was talk that the various local volunteer SAR teams would get to play but that won't be happening, and I'm not sure why (we come for free).

Regarding your question about "...if Elmendorf goes down...", I think the assumption for this drill is that Elemendorf remains functional. As the article notes, the USAF has emergency combat runway repair capabilites for Elmendorf, which could probably put it back in action quickly.

If in a real earthquake Elmendorf was put out of action for an extended period of time, that would obviously complicate things. The nearest significant runway around would probably be in Palmer, about 40 miles north of Anchorage, which is about 6000 ft long. There are numerous other fields around the area, but they would be suitable only for smaller aircraft, though I suspect in an emergency a C-130 could get in to some of them.

The Navy is also playing. They are going to simulate the Port of Anchorage being out of action. The Navy has brought the USNS Mendonca to serve as a temporary port. See also Joint Logistics Over the Shore: Soldiers-sailors integrate into Alaska Shield

California just finisheda "Tsunami Awareness Week" focused on the 1964 event. There is also the "CaliforniaShakeout,"an exercise planned for Oct 16 (at 10:16 AM).

Wish you Alaskans would stop making waves, please.....

Sorry. I guess it is our fault!

Thank you! Your waves make our yachts go bump in the night and we can't get our sleep....

Duh...sometimes I forget the obvious. Driving about the other day I happened to go by Merrill Field. This was Anchorage's first real airport. Merrill has a 4000 ft asphalt runway, which could certainly accommodate a C-130, and probably even a C-17 if required for disaster relief. Not long ago a 727 was landed at Merrill to serve as a ground training aid for UAA's aviation program.

So in the event of an earthquake, Anchorage actually has within the city limits three airports capable of handling cargo aircraft: Ted Stevens International Airport, Elmendorf Air Force Base, and Merrill Field. Even when a major earthquake strikes, it is likely that at least one of these would be usable for disaster relief efforts. This is fortunate, because here in Alaska we are rather far from help if a disaster happens, and air support would be critical, especially for the initial response.

[quote=AKSAR]... Sadly, it will not be quite as large as originally planned. I've heard that several non-military entities who were originally supposed to take part will not be playing (I suspect for budgetary reasons). ...

American Red Cross was to be a player, King County is the staging area for shelter and materiel relief. We come nearly free as well, but the Oso landslide came up and a lot of us are working that. Plus 2 shelters this weekend, the second for 50 people. Unfortunately real disasters subsumed mock scenarios. I was looking forward to playing the AK scenario for a few days!