Program Name:
“Are You Prepared for the Next Big Earthquake in Alaska?”
Administering Agency:
Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Contact:
R. Scott Simmons /State Hazard Mitigation Officer, Earthquake and Tsunami
Program Manager
Address:
P.O. Box 5750, Fort Richardson, AK 99505-5750
Telephone:
800-478-2337
Fax:
907-428-7009
E-mail:
Scott_simmons@ak-prepared.com
Program Summary:
The booklet Are you prepared for the next big EarthQuake in Alaska?
was produced through an innovative public/private partnership of the Alaska
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Alaska
Earthquake Information Center, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the West
Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, the Alaska Division of Geological and
Geophysical Survey, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Homeland
Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency, ConocoPhillips, and the
Anchorage Daily News, Fairbanks Daily News Miner, and the Kenai Peninsula
Clarion.
The public and
private partners combined their expertise and resources to design a major
update to the old booklet titled “The Next Big Earthquake in Southern
Alaska May Come Sooner Than You Think”. The main issue involved was to
provide important preparedness and mitigation information to the entire
State rather than a portion of it given what we learned after the 2002
Magnitude 7.9 Denali Fault Earthquake. We learned that the State Earthquake
Program should expand its focus on earthquake activities to areas within the
State whose residents had not suffered great earthquake damage in recent
history. Earthquake resources were often concentrated in the urban areas
and in areas of greater earthquake risk prior to this. The Denali event
provided clear evidence that organizations, schools and people in rural,
even remote, towns and villages needed access to better information about
what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. The Denali event was a
catalyst for the State Earthquake Program to concentrate on these needs and
audiences.
Program
Operational
One year
Major Purposes
The new booklet addresses the needs of all the citizens of Alaska, not just
those in the urban population areas or those in the areas of greatest risk.
This new edition updates the old information and provides new mitigation
techniques that were sorely needed by the public.
Specific Activities
and Operations
This booklet provides information on what to do during an earthquake to an
audience who had by and large not thought about it and so many acted
inappropriately during the Denali event ( i.e., run outside rather
than drop/cover/hold). It also provides mitigation techniques developed
during the recovery phase to address the unique problem of toppled and
damaged fuel storage tanks in rural areas where winter temperatures can
reach into the minus 50s and 60s – a life threatening issue outside of the
urban areas.
New Approaches and
Methods
The booklet
had the opportunity for distribution on the 40th anniversary of
the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake when many of the State’s newspapers might
be persuaded to contribute distribution means but the idea arrived with
little time and resources to make it happen. The Alaska Office of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management led a Herculean effort to produce 250,000
copies, gather public and private partners and resources, and to make it
happen in time and on schedule.
Program Funding
Start-up Cost:
$42,579 for 250,000 copies
Sources:
Alaska Division of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management, $7,579; DHS/FEMA, $10,000; U.S.
Geological Survey, $10,000; Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical
Survey, $5,000; University of Alaska Fairbanks/Geophysical Institute,
$5,000; West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, $2,500; Conoco-Phillips,
$2,500, Anchorage Daily News, Fairbanks Daily News Miner, and the Kenai
Peninsula Clarion.
Annual Budget:
Reprint costs
every few years averaging perhaps $1,000/year
Source:
National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) passed through the FEMA/State
Emergency Management Program Grant (EMPG)
Staffing
1 FTE
Program Origin
California
developed the first booklet in 1996 and Alaska followed with their rendition
and subsequent first issue in 1998.
Achievement of Stated
Purposes
The booklet provides statewide education. The focus of the initiative
specifically targets areas that previously were not considered at “great” or
“frequent” risk, and helped address some unique mitigation issues in those
rural areas. There has been an increase in telephone inquiries, requests
for non-structural mitigation hardware and information, and requests for
speaking engagements once the booklet was inserted in the newspapers. The
requesters cite the booklet as their source of contact information and
increased or new interest in the subject.
Obstacles Other States
Might Encounter
The only limitations or obstacles that others could expect are: finding
funding sources, talent for production, and historical material
identification. The booklet is a good update template for others and has
been shared with regions across the country since production.
