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Anchorage Ak. Earthquake 2018


SLAG

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Anchorage Alaska experienced a BIG,  (7.5 Richter scale)  earthquake a few hours ago.  With a 5.4 after-shock.

There are no deaths reported, but there is a lot of property damage.

There may be more after-shocks later.

Frosty and the rest of the Alaska:  Hang in there.  

(and all the other residents).

SLAG.

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I wasn't sure where to put this and flipped a mental coin between: Events and safety. We don't really need Prayers, seems there hasn't been many if any major injuries nor fatalities but it's early. Deb's in Texas for her sister's 70th. Bday. We've talked a couple times on the phone, glad she missed being here she's frantic enough.

Things are fine as far as I've been able to check. Power just came back a few minutes ago. No gas leaks and the oil boiler seems okay. I've checked the stack for the wood stove and will be lighting it up shortly.  No reports on the Radio of any deaths or serious injuries. The epicenter was within a couple miles of our place only 17 - 25 miles deep really close and REALLY shallow. Great ride in the recliner, I'd just finished breakfast and walked the dogs. I have two Doxies in my lap whenever I sit down, the pup, Ronnie hides in my arm pit and Baxter the 7 yr old is REALLY rattled but he was upstairs in bed when the dresser fell on it. I think I'll anchor them to the wall now.

A lot of roads are closed, some bridges and ramps are severely damaged maybe even collapsed. TV just came back Fox is finally showing something other political BS. They even showed the slope failure that closed Vine rd. about a mile N. of us. 

No metal content to speak of but I haven't been to the shop yet. If you're in earthquake country or where weather can move the house around. Secure dressers, book shelves, etc. to the walls! Check for gas leaks with soapy water or better still have the gas company check for leaks, if you smell gas shut it off at the meter! Turn off electrical stuff before power returns, it makes it easier for them and you do NOT want to be surprised by a short, cut wire, etc. and be SURE to check the stack on your wood stove BEFORE lighting a fire!!

Most of the power outages are the result of breakers in the transformers tripping, it's automatic in a hard shake. When you see a big flash and smoke from a transformer on a pole it is NOT exploding I don't care what the witness nor talking head on TV says. That's the circuit breaker on pole transformers. There is a 410 shotgun mech. and really short barrel that fires a ceramic slug through a buss bar. 410 shot shell = BANG and power arcing as the buss breaks = flash. It's not a problem, it's an easy reset by the electric company sparkies. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Thanks for asking guys, all's well on the Frost homestead. Lots down off shelves, cabinets, etc. some breakage, hanging pictures and such. No gas leaks, and I just now came back downstairs from checking the stack for the wood stove. Remember gang if something moves the house, never NEVER assume everything is okay, check it before turning it on or lighting it up. 

Anyway, I posted a more complete report just now, I think in the safety discussion category, I wasn't sure where it should have gone and tossed a brain coin. Steve or the boys can and will move it if necessary. 

Frosty The Lucky. :D

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Here's a vibratory finish for you. This is the other end of Vine Rd. and a classic example of why this construction technique is sooooo bad. The ground is recent lakustrine, a lake that eventually filled with dead plants growing on dead plants and trapped dust until it's just a wet gooey piece of ground. Rather than sub-excavating to bearing layer and filling with appropriate material the new and "improved technique is to lay geotextile and start filling till it stops settling for a given period of time. Then they build! Woo HOO it works great till you shake it.

Note the road fill settled straight down, shearing the buttressing fill on either side. The helo videos on TV show the waves beautifully, like a fat boy stomped a cow pie. About what I think of the construction technique. The first pic is facing S. our house is on the far ridge where the head light shows in the gap in the trees. The fill section failure is a vertical bluff, below to the left you can see the wave form and another farther out. The light angle was bad or you'd be able to see details like which way the trees are leaning and such.

Pic 2 is from the same vantage point angled farther left showing the ground waves more clearly, the alder is pointing perpendicular to the ground.

Pic 3 is the other side of the road and shows the vertical subsidence of the fill section and the frozen ground wave forms, the tag alder to the right is a good example of how vegetation allows you to interpret ground movement even from a distance. 

In all the pics you can see the center of the grade failure is more crumbled as opposed to the vertical failures near the edges. This is the result of the return wave same as dropping something in water, the wave rebounds and forms a peak in the center before falling back down.

I googled but couldn't find the helo videos being shown on TV though they're being shown on cable news, Vine road is a pretty dramatic failure.

No word about the occupant(s?) in the car but from the damage I doubt they were injured beyond needing a change of undies. The drop off between where I'm standing and the fellow walking near the car is about 4-5' The people walking around are looky loos, only one guy in a vest might, MIGHT be someone with any business being down there. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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The inbound Glenn highway and what used to be a 2 story house. Miraculously I have not heard of any fatalities or serious injuries.  There must have been some unknown issues with those poor peoples house. The minimal damage to residential housing is a testament to modern building engineering.

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YES! That's the view, see the wave pattern in the soft (not so long ago pond) ground!

I can't see enough of the failure on the Glenn but a lot of that part of the highway is fill over marginal subsoils. I don't see any wave forms so it may have just been a straight up sluff. 

It looks like the house settled it appears the front door is a little lower than the walkway to it. That's going to cost to repair and nobody up here can afford quake insurance. Paying the premium for about 3-4 years would equal replacement cost of the house. Better to bank the payments and build a nicer place every 10 years or so. 

You were hit a lot harder where you live, how are you doing? 

Still no reports of fatalities or even serious injuries. Post '64 Good Friday Quake, building codes RULE!

Frosty The Lucky.

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Glad to hear everything is good Frosty, and it is amazing that no fatalities or injuries have been reported. Before I decided to work full time for my family's machine shop, I was in the emergency management field so I automatically look at this from a case study perspective. To me, it is amazing to see how a area handles disaster when preparedness is a way of life vs. not even a consideration.  In college I polled about 150 students about how long after a disaster they expected someone to show up with a bottle of water and a blanket for them.  The majority said within 4 hours post incident.

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We did fine here, some broken trinkets and decorations, lots of stuff fell off shelves in the garage. You can definitely tell the direction the waves came from.

If you look close you can see the double garage door under the big windows. I think the stairs used to up to the front door. 

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Sounds like we're in the same boat, mostly pick up with little breakage. :D

Oooh, evidently the house took more damage than it seemed at first glance at the pic. From split level to smooshed level in 37 seconds. OUCH!

We could've retired to a Caribbian paradise and be waiting for a year or two to have power restored after a comparable quake. 

Think I'll stick with Alaskan building code and construction. I can bundle up and enjoy a Mai Tai or . . . (Drats, what's the drink made with coconut, pineapple and rum? I really like those) while watching the aurora or meteor showers. Of course then we come inside and have a hot toddy and sit by the hot stove. . . Drifting around on a dead cruise ship doesn't sound any better either. I think I'll stick with the plans for a little snow birding in the RV. Yeah that's the plan and it's a good one. :ph34r:

Frosty The Lucky.

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YES IT WOULD! Thank your better half for me please. :) 

Folk on the back lake used to make quiet parties of laying on insulated ground pads in sleeping bags on the frozen lake on good aurora or meteor shower nights sipping home brew but I'm too old to lay on frozen lakes, a recliner in the yard is adventurous enough and a sweet sissy cocktail is more my style than brewing ad bottling 30 gls. of beer is now.

Frosty The Lucky.

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