It has been brought to our attention that your city is experiencing a tremendous amount of growth, both in population and infrastructure to support said population. Because of the growth it is understandable that an earthquake and tsunami risk assessment is necessary to ensure that the city of Anchorage is aware of the risks and externalities of a large earthquake. Below is our independent assessment of the city's preparedness in the event of an earthquake as well as our suggestions for shoring up your precautionary measures. The earthquake that occurred earlier this year will provide a worst case scenario baseline for our suggestions and analysis as well as other, smaller earthquakes that have been detected in Alaska over the past century.…show more content… It produced a vertical displacement over an area of 500,000 square-kilometers that ranged from 2.5 meters of sinking to 11.5 meters of uplift in some areas. Although Anchorage was the hardest hit by the earthquake, the effects were felt over a large part of your state as well as a portion of western Canada, with tidal abnormalities detected as far as Puerto Rico. A total of 128 people lost their lives (15 from the quake and 113 from the ensuing tsunami), a relatively low amount of deaths for an earthquake of this size that is owed to the low population density of Alaska as well as the quake falling on Easter Sunday, a day that many had traveled to visit friends and family out of state. Though the casualties of the quake are low comparatively speaking, it is the duty of the local government to protect its citizens and make the necessary changes in order to be as prepared as possible for future tectonic…show more content… This is due to plate interaction between the Pacific and North American plates, and the megathrust boundary that spans a length of the 4,000 km long Aleutian Trench. Along this convergence there is a change in the angle of subduction from shallow in the east to steeper in the west, which partially accounts for the varying depths of quakes in Alaska. Given the tectonic setting and data from 1912 until 2002, the recurrence interval (time between quakes) of 6.0 magnitude or greater earthquakes within 300 km of Anchorage is approximately 8 years. In addition to the short recurrence interval, there is a 99.96% chance of a 5.0 or greater earthquake occurring within the next 50 years and a 7.4% chance of an earthquake of 9.2 magnitude or greater in the same time span. The data above indicates another seismic event similar to the 1964 earthquake is very likely. Therefore, planning ahead and evaluating past earthquake hazards and damage is highly recommended.
According to the information provided to our firm, the city of Anchorage was severely underprepared for the shock of this earthquake, both in terms of building codes, safety regulations and infrastructure, so this is a logical area to assess first. Downtown Anchorage was perhaps the most affected, as approximately
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Soils 114-128
Unit 6 Living things in the Environment
Plant and animal cells 129
Eukaryotes vs prokaryotes 130
Structures and functions 133-137
Microbes 148-150
Onion and cheek cells 150-151
Ecological study 154
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