In this Jan. 10, 2019, photo, Tamra Cartwright, right, talks with sons Connor, 7, left, and Caden, 11, about the effect of multiple aftershocks from Alaska’s recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake while interviewed in Anchorage, Alaska. Connor Cartwright says the aftershocks terrify him, and he fears his Anchorage home won’t hold up. (AP Photo/Rachel D’Oro)

In this Jan. 10, 2019, photo, Tamra Cartwright, right, talks with sons Connor, 7, left, and Caden, 11, about the effect of multiple aftershocks from Alaska’s recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake while interviewed in Anchorage, Alaska. Connor Cartwright says the aftershocks terrify him, and he fears his Anchorage home won’t hold up. (AP Photo/Rachel D’Oro)

Anxiety in Alaska as endless aftershocks rattle residents

  • By RACHEL D’ORO Associated Press
  • Sunday, January 20, 2019 1:50am
  • News

ANCHORAGE — Seven weeks after a massive earthquake rocked Alaska, aftershocks are still shattering 7-year-old Connor Cartwright’s sense of safety.

They shake the earth far less than the 7.0 magnitude quake that sent a mirror, TV and dishes crashing to the ground in the Anchorage home where Connor lives with his mother, father and 11-year-old brother.

But the seemingly never-ending aftershocks deepen quake anxiety for the second-grader and many other Alaska residents in the wide swath of the state shaken by the Nov. 30 quake.

When the big aftershocks hit, Connor fears his home will collapse.

“I feel like the house won’t hold up,” he said.

Many of the aftershocks are so small that people don’t notice them, like a recent one that Connor didn’t feel at school — but his teacher made all the students dive under their desks to be safe.

The latest big aftershock happened last Sunday — a magnitude 5.0 jolt that flared already frayed nerves and prompted panicky posts on social media.

That one “reminded people again that it’s not over yet,” said seismologist Natalia Rupert at the Alaska Earthquake Center.

There have been more than 7,800 aftershocks since the main earthquake struck 7 miles north of Anchorage, the state’s most populous city. Most were too small to feel, but 20 have had magnitudes of 4.5 or greater. Rupert expects the temblors to continue for months, although the frequency has lessened, from about 200 daily to a couple dozen a day.

With no end to the seismic action in sight, Laura Dykes said her upcoming vacation trip to Las Vegas will be a huge relief from the stress she now experiences. The Anchorage law firm worker still has vivid memories of her basement office in a building swaying back and forth during the November earthquake. It was built on rollers to protect it from seismic events.

“I can’t get out of here fast enough,” Dykes said. “It’ll be five days I can get sleep.”

The earthquake buckled roads and some homes and buildings sustained heavy damage, with initial estimates to repair damage and other costs at about $100 million.

But most parts of Anchorage and other areas escaped the type of widespread catastrophic damage that happened in a devastating 1964 earthquake because of strict building codes that were put in place after that quake, which had a magnitude of 9.2 and was the second most powerful quake recorded on the planet.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported after the quake seven weeks ago, but federal officials soon declared a public health emergency and mental health aid was made available for people traumatized by the event. School counselors were swamped and crisis counselors were brought in from Oregon to help at several Anchorage-area schools. Therapists and other professionals struggled to meet demand from a nervous public.

Mental health providers say the rush of new patients has slowed, but they still treat clients rattled by the aftershocks, which strike without warning or any apparent pattern.

“It’s overwhelming for people, and they feel emotionally out of control,” said Deborah Gonzales, a licensed clinical social worker in Anchorage.

Gonzales said people tell her they can’t stand the shaking and don’t feel safe anywhere. Some are considering moving out of state while others say they feel “crazy” — feelings Gonzales called “100 percent normal.”

For Connor, every noticeable shake triggers feelings of vulnerability, said his mother, Tamra Cartwright, adding that many of her friends’ children also struggle with quake-related fears.

Tamra Cartwright said her husband was at work when the main quake struck, but she and her sons ran out of the house and hugged each other as they huddled together outside. Along with broken family items, the only damage to their home was an existing hairline wall crack that was made wider. But Connor couldn’t sleep in his own bed for weeks and only just returned to it.

His mother said she “totally” hates the aftershocks, but tries to “be strong for my kids.”

Lifelong Alaskan Robert Bell was 12 during the 1964 earthquake and remembers it as a rolling action while the recent quake was more of a back-and-forth movement that felt more violent even though it wasn’t as powerful. The recent quake and its aftershocks have been like reliving that youthful experience over and over, Bell said.

Bell, who worked in construction for years, built his own home and says it’s safe and solid. But his heart races when the aftershocks hit.

“You don’t know when the next one’s going to hit — that’s been unnerving,” he said.

They’re also unsettling for Ethel Sechlera. But the Anchorage supermarket cashier considers them a way for the ground to let out seismic pressures.

“I’d rather have the little aftershocks to keep from having the big one hit,” she said.

Others shrug off the aftershocks as part of daily life in the most seismically active region of the U.S.

“I guess I’m a special kind of case because I don’t really mind it so much,” said Isaiah Sagayo. “I just continue on.”


• By RACHEL D’ORO, Associated Press


In this Jan. 10, 2019, photo, Ethel Sechlera talks about the effect of multiple aftershocks from Alaska’s recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Rachel D’Oro)

In this Jan. 10, 2019, photo, Ethel Sechlera talks about the effect of multiple aftershocks from Alaska’s recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Rachel D’Oro)

More in News

The Kenai Peninsula College main entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Chiappone and Dunstan to speak at the KPC Showcase

Kenai Peninsula College continues its showcase with two new speakers this week and next

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, talks about issues of concern regarding the proposed merger of supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons during a floor speech in the House chamber on Wednesday. (Screenshot from official U.S. House of Representatives video feed)
Begich leads in early results, but Alaska’s U.S. House race won’t be immediately decided

About 245,000 ballots had been counted by 11:32 p.m., and Peltola trailed by about 5 percentage points

The Alaska governor’s mansion on Wednesday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is considered a contender for a post in Donald Trump’s second presidential administration. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Election summary: Trump wins, GOP takes over U.S. Senate, Alaska may get new governor

Begich and repeal of ranked choice voting narrowly lead; GOP may lose control of state House.

Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage on Oct. 7, 2024. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Voters line up at the polling site at Anchorage City Hall on Nov. 4, 2024. City Hall was one of the designated early voting sites in Alaska’s largest city. It is not a designated site for Election Day voting. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Republicans lose two seats in state House, increasing odds of leadership switch

Rural Alaska precincts had reported few results by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Donald Trump won or was leading as of Wednesday morning in all seven swing states in the 2024 presidential election. (Doug Mills / The New York Times)
Donald Trump returns to power, ushering in new era of uncertainty

He played on fears of immigrants and economic worries to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris.

A voter is handed as ballot at Woodworth School in Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. One of the most consequential presidential elections in the nation’s modern history is well underway, as voters flocked to churches, schools and community centers to shape the future of American democracy. (Nick Hagen/The New York Times)
Trump verges on victory, picking up Pennsylvania

Donald Trump has captured Pennsylvania, the biggest prize of the seven battleground… Continue reading

Signs and supporters line the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Unofficial results for the 2024 general election

Preliminary, unofficial election results as of 9:55 p.m.

Poll worker Carol Louthan helps voters submit ballots at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Bjorkman, Ruffridge, Elam and Vance lead in election night results

Several residents said that they came out to vote because they knew this election was “a big one.”

Most Read