Just a quick update on the earthquake situation here in Alaska: the frequency of aftershocks has decreased to not much more than the normal background level. We still get the occasional 3.5 to 4.4 bump, but only every two or three weeks. In other words, things are nearly back to normal. So now we continue to wait for the State inspectors to come 'round and assess the physical damage to the house. (There are some 14,000 claims for them to evaluate; it takes awhile.)
Because the "news" media won't bother to mention it, the earthquakes in Alaska continue.
We're getting 3.8 or stronger magnitude shakes every day or two, including a 5.0 yesterday, several yesterday afternoon, and several more this morning. Most of these include 10 to 30 seconds of vibration or rumbling, before and/or after the sharper jolt of the main quake.
We had a 3.8 this morning at 10, some 23 minutes ago as I type this. To say these frequent quakes are disconcerting is an understatement.
That's the current temperature here at the ol' homestead. We've had a couple inches of snow, dry though it is, in the last day or two. Roads are in pretty good shape, except where the packed-down snow has been turned to ice by wear, and worn slick by stopping and starting.
I've been joking for a couple of years that intersections in the Anchorage area are groomed by Zamboni in winter-time. It's not really funny at all, and just another reason why I so rarely drive into the city anymore.
I'm happy to report that we haven't found any more "new" cracks from the 7.0 earthquake and the 8,000 or so aftershocks since then. However, although we had a couple of quiet days in mid-week, there have been a series of 3.7 to 4.7 magnitude 'quakes in the last few days. The 4.7 got our attention, because ... let's face it ... everyone is still on edge about the shaking, and wondering if we'll have any more large aftershocks.
But with every day that passes, the chance of such an occurrance grows slightly less.
In other news, there's a bit o' buzz around the Wasilla area. You remember Wasilla: the former hometown of ex-Governor Sarah Palin... Anyhoo, Alaska's first Sonic drive-in will open there, later this year. That's probably worth driving over there to check it out, when it happens.
The number of aftershocks from the 7.0 'quake on Nov. 30 continues to climb. It's now approaches 6,000 over 6,100.
This morning we were greeted by a 4.9 magnitude shake which happened at 5:21. At least I was in bed for this one, rather than climbing into the shower. And since the power stayed on (as it usually does; the big 'quake took out several substations) I wasn't in the position of lying on the bathroom floor amid the debris in the dark, afterward.
Just the same, we begin to wish the "pleasure" were postponed indefinitely.
18 days after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook Southcentral Alaska, nearly 5,000 aftershocks have been registered by seismic sensors, and on Sunday, the Alaska Earthquake Center reported surpassing 50,000 recorded earthquakes in Alaska in a year for the first time ever.
... Research Technician Dara Merz wrote in a Facebook post that the main drivers of seismic activity in 2018 were the Jan. 23 magnitude 7.9 Kodiak earthquake, the Aug. 12 6.4 Kaktovik earthquake, and the Nov. 30 earthquake.
... Since Nov. 30, Ruppert says the same region is experiencing an aftershock every couple minutes, all day, every day.
Aftershocks recorded after the Nov. 30, 2018 earthquake. (Screengrab from Alaska Earthquake Center website)
Most of the thousands of aftershocks that continue to rattle Anchorage and Mat-Su after Friday morning’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake have been too small to feel. Others have sent rocks cascading onto parts of the Seward Highway, and some shook Southcentral Alaska residents awake, like the 4.7 aftershock that struck 9 miles northwest of Anchorage around 3:49 a.m. Wednesday.
These lingering tremors have become an annoyance for many residents. As of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, 2,788 aftershocks had been recorded, of which 181 measured at least 3.0, 20 were at 4.0 or greater and five measured at least 5.0, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
That’s left some people wondering: Are the shakes that continue to jolt us several days after the initial earthquake truly aftershocks anymore — or are they brand-new earthquakes?
Natalia Ruppert of the Alaska Earthquake Center, based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says they are indeed aftershocks.
Earthquakes come in clusters, and seismologists refer to the largest one in a sequence as the “mainshock." The earthquakes that occur in the aftermath of a mainshock continue to be called “aftershocks” until the seismic activity in the region returns back to the level it was at before the mainshock, Ruppert said.
“For an earthquake of this size, we expect the aftershocks to continue for a few months," Ruppert said. "The rate of the aftershocks, however, will be going down with time.”
Aftershock updates as of 7:30 am Thursday:
5+: 5
4+: 21
3+: 183
2+: 952
1+: 1,627
Total: 2,788
(Note: We've had several more since this morning, including a 4.8 at
There have been over 1,300 aftershocks from Friday's earthquake. I'm here to tell you we're exhausted and truly weary of the frequent shaking.
To put it another way, it's hard to recover from a wound that gets ripped open two or three times an hour.
Let's take a look at the most recent earthquake map, shall we?
Here's the map from a bit earlier this evening.
Yesterday's map, for comparison.
The seismic resonance causing 'quakes to spread across Alaska is obvious. Eventually, the lay of the land (literally) will find a balance, and the tremblors will stop. USGS says that could take two or three weeks.
Most of the thousands of aftershocks that continue to rattle Anchorage and Mat-Su after Friday morning’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake have been too small to feel. Others have sent rocks cascading onto parts of the Seward Highway, and some shook Southcentral Alaska residents awake, like the 4.7 aftershock that struck 9 miles northwest of Anchorage around 3:49 a.m. Wednesday.
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Updated: 4 hours ago
Published 6 hours ago
