Lessons from the country’s largest earthquakes alive

“I remember it very clearly,” said Cindy Buchanan, who was just 8 years old in 1964 when the Good Friday earthquake struck Alaska’s 9.2 Richter scale. Buchanan was home with her 3-year-old brother when the ground began to shake their A-shaped home in the Eagle River.

“It was the noises that I remember most: the creaking of the house, the dishes falling and books falling on the floor, the growling only because the earthquake lasted so long,” she said. “I swear I heard the roar of avalanches down the mountains. I remember that more than anything.”

It’s a similar noise I remember hearing last Wednesday, July 28, when the largest earthquake in the United States in 50 years rocked the Lands End resort where Buchanan and her sister, Lara Heldreath, were staying. The 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck 64 miles southeast of Perryville and shook the Gulf of Alaska coast around 10:15 p.m., triggering aftershocks and tsunami warnings for many communities, including Homer, Syldovia and Seward. The tsunami warning was canceled at around 12:30 a.m. Thursday.

“It was not like any other earthquake I’ve had before,” Buchanan said. “There was no shaking or jiggling back and forth, but the whole building was rolling.”

According to the Alaska Seismological Center, the July 28 earthquake occurred in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone where the Pacific and North American tectonic plates meet.

The earthquake surprised the sisters by how long it lasted. Once the building stopped “rolling,” it wasn’t long until the tsunami sirens began sounding evacuation warnings. Knowing they’re in the last place anyone should be when a tsunami warning is issued, Buchanan said there was never any question about whether or not they would leave. They quickly grabbed their essentials and started walking.

“When we realized we were on the Spit, which isn’t a great place to be when there’s a potential tsunami, we took it very seriously,” Healdreth said. “…when the sirens went off, it really hit the house.”

Without a vehicle to evacuate, Buchanan and Hildreth weren’t sure how to escape the danger to Homer Speech at that moment. A married couple showed their sympathy for the duo and drove them to their childhood friend’s home on Skyline Drive, just past the flood zone.

“It was a really horrible feeling, to be honest, to kind of not know how to get out of a spit,” Buchanan said. “It was scary. I didn’t realize it until we got into the car as my legs were shaking.”

“I find I have this ability in emergency situations, and I’m very calm and clear in my mind even though I’m scared,” Buchanan added. “I did it even at 8 o’clock.”

Having lived through the Good Friday earthquake and the July 28 earthquake with many earthquakes in between, Buchanan says she always remembers the effect the first earthquake had on her. You’ve learned the importance of preparing for potential emergencies, including being familiar with emergency protocols, being prepared for aftershocks, having a small bag in case of a quick evacuation and staying calm.

“Every time an earthquake hits, it takes me back to 1964 because I always wondered if it was going to get that severe,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan now lives in Seattle and has retired from her preschool teacher career of 25 years, writing poetry about her experiences, including her realization of the power of the earth through the Good Friday earthquake. While she and her family mostly escaped unscathed, she knew and knew the people who died that day. 8-year-old Buchanan was horrified to see the aftermath of the accident in Anchorage, and says she is grateful they were safe once her parents got home.

“It’s something that lasts and lasts, the stories of the people who got involved,” Buchanan said. “I am fully aware how lucky we all have been.”

Casey Aderhold, a seismologist with the Research Institutions of Seismology and a Homer resident, explained earthquakes of such large magnitude as last Wednesday and in 1964 a rupture in this region due to the sheer force and size of the two faults. These earthquakes occur on the so-called Alaska-Aleutian giant fault, Aderhold explained, a massive fault that forms when the Pacific plate sinks or sinks below the North American plate.

“When the plates come down this way, they don’t do it very smoothly. They can get stuck to each other, but the plate itself is still moving, so the pressure builds up in that stuck place. Once it gets around, there’s enough of that strain that builds up, and it can to explode in an earthquake,” Aderhold said. “Because that’s from a plate that goes down or down, you have a depression in that fault. It’s not straight up and down, it’s going down, and because of that slope in a huge subduction like this, it allows a really large fault surface area to stumble and then rupture in a very large earthquake. “.

As the largest US earthquake in 50 years, Aderhold said the July 28 quake was significant because it did not have a significant impact on the perimeter of the epicenter and provides additional data for researchers to investigate.

“It’s nice to have bigger things like this that can teach us about earthquakes and their behaviors along these dangerous faults without having an impact on people, except for a turbulent night for some,” she said.

While earthquakes are expected along the massive Alaska-Aleutian River, Aderhold said previous large earthquakes in the region with magnitudes greater than 9.0 are cause for additional monitoring from seismologists.

“With every earthquake, there is always the possibility that something bigger will follow,” Aderhold said.

Aftershocks still occur near the epicenter of the last earthquake, so Aderhold encourages everyone to review local earthquake and tsunami emergency protocols and understand the possibility of another earthquake, tsunami, or even landslide.

“We live in an active world, and the ground under our feet does not have to remain as stable as we would like it to be,” Aderhold said.

She also recommended shakeout.org for more information on earthquake preparedness and training.

In addition to earthquake preparedness training, Homer City Public Information and Special Projects and Communications Coordinator Jenny Carroll encouraged all tourists and local residents to familiarize themselves with Homer’s evacuation and emergency plans, which can be found at https://www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/

“We’re here as a resource,” Carroll said. “We are really willing to help people understand where to go and what to do. My office can take these calls, and since people need special help, I can help them find where they need and what they need to do.”

Homer’s maximum submersion level is 50 feet above sea level, and people must evacuate to areas above Stirling Expressway for safety. Homer’s “blue line,” or 50-foot sea-level line, was redrawn in 2019 by the Alaska Earthquake Center, and although there was no physical marking of the line, Carroll said positioning is a future goal for the city.

Evacuation signs are located in key locations, helping to direct traffic in the midst of an emergency like last Wednesday. Carroll explained that if you reside in the flood zone, including Homer Spit, Ocean Drive and parts of Beluga Slough and Sterling Highway, evacuation routes vary depending on the location north or south of Beluga Slough.

“What we’re asking people to do is get rid of the spit, and if you’re south of Beluga slaw, you can turn right on Kachemak Drive and continue all the way to East End Road,” Carroll said. “What I would encourage anyone who lives north of Beluga Slough and is in the flood zone is to go up the Stirling Highway and find accommodations with friends or a public place to park.”

Homer High School is currently operating as a tsunami evacuation shelter. Carroll urged people not to go to the Southern Peninsula Hospital.

While earthquake and tsunami warnings are a common occurrence when staying in Alaska, Buchanan, Aderhold, and Carol warned people to be complaisant and ignore the evacuation sirens.

“Even though there are many warnings and no event, the last thing you want to do is not take (the warnings) seriously,” Carroll said.

For more information or to see if your accommodation is in the flood zone, visit https://www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/em Emergency-information/be-tsunami-aware-be-tsunami-prepared-know-homers-evacuation Safe and secure routes or call the city manager’s office at 907-235-8121.

Contact Sarah Knapp at [email protected].

Cindy Buchanan (left) and Lara Heldreth (right) were in Homer after a trip to the McNeill River State Sanctuary and Refuge when the July 28 earthquake struck with a magnitude of 8.2. (Photo courtesy of Cindy Buchanan)

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