In Unfazed Alaska, a Major Quake Is Just a Bump in the Road

I enjoyed the story about the lady who when told to evacuate her home due to a potential tsunami grabbed her passport, birth certificate and bottle of Pappy Van Winkle and headed for high ground. Now there is is lady with her priorities straight!

"The state itself falls short of the ideal, relying heavily on the federal government, especially in rural areas." Take the U.S. military operations and U.S. airport out of Anchorage and heavy urban reliance on the federal government will be obvious to even a writer for the Times. 'Heavily' in rural Alaska is ?% In Anchorage ?% Federal handouts to Alaska have been massive especially percentagewise. I have made seventeen trips of at least one week to Alaska. I find self-reliant Alaska minus federal spending laughable. Parks, roads, ports, airports, postal service, ferry service, AK native corporations, etc. all amount to a huge chunk of federal giveaways financed by the more productive and populous states of the nation. What will the federal payout be for quake damage? Yeoman Alaskans bunk.

We lived in Alaska for 6 1/2 years through earthquakes, volcano eruptions and the other vagaries of the "Last Frontier" life. Have lived here in Malibu since 1995, where we are dealing with the latest, and worst, of our fire disasters. I am struck by the difference in responses voiced by those effected and/or commenting. While the reports and comments by Alaskans largely reflect a can-do attitude, we seem to fall into finger-pointing and blame-gaming. Alaskans are tough, but so are those of us in Malibu. In the end, both will work their way through these disasters, I wish we could do that with more of of the Alaska style!

I was visiting Alaska a few years ago when it was hit with a magnitude 6 quake. For me it was a "WHOA" moment, but the locals barely noticed. I don't think it was even mentioned anywhere outside of one report on the local news. Yes, Alaska is a different place, and Alaskans are a different breed. If I was young enough to start over, I'd probably head up there to live.

Just one correction:the USGS lists seven earthquakes in Alaska since 1964 stronger than the quake from last week, including the 2002 Denali earthquake that was magnitude 7.9.

Glad to see that there is at least one place left in this country where people are tough. All we here about in the lower 48 are shrieking snowflakes who are continuously offended about something or other. I'm guessing they wouldn't last long in Alaska.

The people pictured are not very smart. After shocks can crush you.

Let them drill for more oil, and start to frack. Maybe they will have the entire state fall into the sea. Politicians will moan and send their thoughts and prayers...then benignly approve another round of drilling and exploration on the new offshore and coastal areas.

People in Alaska should get ready to say goodbye to their pristine paradise. Trump and his corporate raiders are about to descend on them with total environmental destruction following right behind them. Let's see how they fare then, especially when the oil corporations succeed in stopping those generous payments.

it strikes me, that in addition to the two elements mentioned (but not sufficiently stressed) in the story as contributing to why this was not a big tragedy of disaster - the depth of the earthquake and the strict building codes - there is the factor of the significantly lower population density of the area... I've no doubt that Alaskans are a hardy bunch, but it's also easier to cope with a disaster when there are no tragic losses of life compounded and made senseless by human greed and neglect putting people in harms way...

quote The state is called the Last Frontier for a reason, and residents pride themselves on their rugged endurance. unquote well, maybe: Isn't Alaska highly dependent on Federal money ? much more so then, say NY ? well, yes: Alaska gets more Federal money per capita then any other state but VA !!