On November
30, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. we had a 7.2 earthquake.
It’s epicenter was less than 30 miles from us. We have earthquakes often and a 5.0 is a good
shaker. I have never been so terrified
in my life! Adam was already at work. We had one daycare buddy
with us who is just 2 weeks older than Ashton.
We thank God for the safety of ourselves, our friends, our AK family, and our community.
The Earthquake
The boys and I were in the kitchen and Josie was sleeping in her bassinet in our bedroom. The second it started shaking, I knew it was a big one, I grabbed Ashton by the arm and basically threw him under the table as I moved chairs and told the other boy to get under too. Once they were both under, I ran as fast as I could for Josie. Our bedroom is only around the corner, but it seemed so far. Especially when the electricity went out and it was pitch dark (sun hadn’t come up yet). The darkness, not being able to balance myself in the shaking, falling things hitting me, and tripping over items on the ground made it feel like I wasn’t going to make it to her in time. There was nothing that could fall on her, but at that moment, with such violent shaking and sounds, I thought the walls were coming down. It was the worst feeling, to leave children under a table while thinking you may not make it to your sweet baby in time. The rest is a blur. After the initial earthquake there were continual large aftershocks, for which we stayed under the table.
**I am SO PROUD of Ashton and his buddy. They are two-years old. They listened to my directions and stayed under the table, just as we had practiced. I can't imagine what would've happened if they didn't**
Immediately after
Our 6th grade neighbor girl came to our door, crying, as she was at her house by herself and about to leave for school when the earthquake hit. She came in and sat under the table with us. I’m not sure how long we sat there, I had a million things running through my head while trying to appear calm and collected for the kids. Is anyone hurt by either falling things or broken glass? Is the gas leaking? How am I going to get out of the house to turn off the gas if needed with these kids and the aftershocks? Will Adam be able to leave the hospital to come home? Wait, will he be able to get home??!?! (there is only 1 road between Eagle River and Anchorage) Will Tundra stay in our yard? (Thank goodness he was already outside in our backyard when it happened or I imagine his paws would’ve been cut up from all the glass. He came running up the inside stairs to us at one point and I had to rush him back downstairs and outside before he stepped on glass in between aftershocks. Our downstairs sliding glass door had slid open, even though it had been locked, and he entered through that door. Even though our yard is fenced, he was able to squeeze through a spot and run to the front yard in the panic. I wasn’t able to get outside to tie him up, I just prayed he stayed home. AND HE DID!) My phone wasn’t working but thankfully our neighbor girls’ was, so I was able to quickly check in with the kids’ parents, Adam, and text our parents that we were safe. As much as I wanted to scream and cry, I had to hold myself together for the kids. I knew I was terrified and couldn’t imagine how they felt. Poor Ashton kept his face down, covering his head for the longest time. Again, I have no idea how long anything lasted but I remember asking him to cuddle with me a couple times and he refused to move. I used the phone light until I felt comfortable enough to step out from under the table to get the flashlight we had in a basket on the counter. Thankfully it is a childcare licensing requirement that everyone wear indoor shoes in case of an emergency evacuation, to keep feet safe and somewhat warm/dry in all weather conditions. This was crucial for me as I had to step across glass to answer the door for our neighbor girl, to get the flashlight, and to later get the boys to the couch. I swept away as much glass as I could and dried up the dog water that had spilled and started seeping towards our safe area, I got pillows and blankets from the couch, then tried to tell the kids a story but we kept getting distracted by more shaking, text messages/calls, and thoughts running through my head of what needed to be done and how I was going to do it by myself with 4 kids. I felt like even though we were safe under the table, we needed to be outside. I couldn’t smell gas and our house appeared to be structurally okay at first observation but I couldn’t imagine there wasn’t a gas leak or a weak wall or floor with how intense the earthquake was and how the house looked. Plus there was glass EVERYWHERE. I wanted us to be outside but we couldn’t get there without first getting to our snow gear, putting it on, and then getting outside. I couldn’t get 5 steps away from the kids without an aftershock, I couldn’t leave them and I couldn’t bring them with me. Finally, once the aftershocks somewhat slowed, I quarantined everyone to our couch. Away from glass and anything that could fall on them. Thankful again that the boys already had their indoor shoes on since keeping two 2-year old boys on a couch seemed impossible at that time. However, they weren’t on the couch looking at books for long before the other kiddo’s dad showed up. I was shocked he was able to make it back to Eagle River so quickly and this made me hopeful for Adam. At this point, I knew Adam had to check in with the hospital before he could leave. The boy’s dad told me traffic was getting backed up due to vehicles being diverted from the highway through Eagle River and back on to the highway (later found out this was due to a damaged bridge). With one less toddler, I felt comfortable enough to make a run for our snow gear to get outside to officially check for gas leaks, to view our house from the outside, and to check the neighbors. We saw cracks in the ground that went deeper than the snow/ice layer. We felt a few large aftershocks that have a completely different feel when you’re outside. At some point I learned that Adam was released to come back home, but we didn’t know how long it would take him to actually get home. Our neighbor girl was getting cold as we couldn’t get to her full set of winter gear at her house and I discovered our play room was actually perfectly safe for them and Tundra to hang out in, whew! They played and ate snacks while I tried to gather myself, supplies, further check-out the house, and tend to Josie. At some point, I also had to dig my way through the garage to check our freezers. One is a stand-up and had come open with meat pouring out. That door needed to be closed and kept closed since the power was out. Surprisingly, my phone started working again and I was flooded with text messages and phone calls. I was then able to call and check-in with my dad. When I saw that my cousin, Danae, was calling, I debated on answering but I just had to let loose to someone. I was struggling to hold it together and it was all I could do to not cry to my dad.... I didn't want to worry him more. I apologized to her because I didn't want to worry her either but I couldn't hold it in anymore. The kids were busy in the playroom, so I just cried to her. I needed that in order to continue on, thanks Danae!
That afternoon
Thank goodness Adam got home much sooner than I anticipated and by this time there was indeed a strong gas smell once we opened the door outside.....somebody in our neighborhood had a leak. Adam and another neighbor checked our culdesac houses’ meters and didn't find any issues. Once Adam was able to come in and take a look, I could tell it was worse than he expected! (Anchorage/his hospital was further from the epicenter and didn't get hit as bad) We were planning to have neighbors at our house that night for warmth by the fire and food from our camping/emergency supply but the electricity actually came back on that afternoon! Our neighbor girl stayed at our house and watched movies with Ashton on her iPad while her mother finished duties at her childcare center on base and tried to get home. She had to wait awhile at a gas station in order to get a full tank that would hopefully get her home in the traffic. Luckily, Adam left when he did because his colleague left 10 minutes after him, but it took her 4 hours longer to get home! Adam and I started the task of cleaning up after taking pictures and videos for insurance, memory, and story-telling purposes.
The following days
We were planning to go on our first winter tenting trip to Long Lake for ice fishing that weekend, but of course that got cancelled. School was cancelled the following week so that structure and safety assessments could be completed. Some schools aren't able to open up the rest of the year! Teachers in those schools were escorted to their classrooms with a limited time to fill a certain number of boxes to take with them to their new temporary location at a neighboring school for the remainder of the year. Uck, I can't imagine!
We found out that our insurance doesn’t cover earthquake damage, having specific earthquake insurance isn’t reasonable, and so hardly anyone has it. Those who did had a 10% of house value deductible to meet first, but majority of people did not have more than $30,000 worth of damage. However, a house the street over from us literally cracked in ½ and sunk 8 feet. We live in a "cookie-cutter house" neighborhood.... the question still stands as to why that house had severe damage and nobody else's did. One of the men living at that house was home with their dogs- they got out of the house without sustaining any injuries, incredible! A whole neighborhood of houses was built on marshy terrain and they have sunk. Besides houses of course, businesses, roads, bridges, etc were damaged as well. However, the engineers have done an excellent job up here after learning from the 1964 earthquake(magnitude 9), so damage COULD have been much much worse, resulting in more injuries or even deaths. It is unbelievable that there weren’t any deaths. This experience has proven how resilient, positive, and hard-working Alaskans are. There was an article in the local paper written by a woman who moved here 4 months ago, she describes her experience and how impressed she was with the recovery of our community, how quickly roads were repaired, and mostly how she doesn’t think she can ever live up to being called an Alaskan.
People could sign up for a free structural analysis from the municipality engineers. Our house checked out!
We live near the joint air-force, military base and can always hear (and sometimes feel) when they are performing controlled detonations. Of course this was scheduled like 1.5 weeks after the earthquake and they continued with it as planned. However, it didn't last as long as usual and coincidentally stopped after people were in an uproar and we had a mag 5+ aftershock. I never cared to look into this more.
The aftershocks
Tundra doesn't venture far from us. Shawn even commented on this new trait after they watched him for winter break. However, he seems to be doing better than other dogs I have heard about. Angel is still the same sassy, moody cat.
Ashton
Oh, my sweet boy. My heart hurt the most for him on the day of the earthquake and still today. Like I said, he was too scared to move or even uncover his eyes when I was trying to comfort him under the table. He was very concerned for the aftershocks throughout the next week, he would panic a bit and asked for a lot of hugs. I don't recall how long it took before he would leave the room without one of us. He had a sleep regression and still comes to our bed. The earthquake came through in his play. >Once the mommy truck pushed two smaller trucks under the coffee table for the earthquake and told them they were safe there.< He still points to cracks in the wall and talks about the earthquake. I have to try my hardest to remain calm for aftershocks, as to not worry him. It sucks.
We thank God for the safety of ourselves, our friends, our AK family, and our community.
The Earthquake
The boys and I were in the kitchen and Josie was sleeping in her bassinet in our bedroom. The second it started shaking, I knew it was a big one, I grabbed Ashton by the arm and basically threw him under the table as I moved chairs and told the other boy to get under too. Once they were both under, I ran as fast as I could for Josie. Our bedroom is only around the corner, but it seemed so far. Especially when the electricity went out and it was pitch dark (sun hadn’t come up yet). The darkness, not being able to balance myself in the shaking, falling things hitting me, and tripping over items on the ground made it feel like I wasn’t going to make it to her in time. There was nothing that could fall on her, but at that moment, with such violent shaking and sounds, I thought the walls were coming down. It was the worst feeling, to leave children under a table while thinking you may not make it to your sweet baby in time. The rest is a blur. After the initial earthquake there were continual large aftershocks, for which we stayed under the table.
**I am SO PROUD of Ashton and his buddy. They are two-years old. They listened to my directions and stayed under the table, just as we had practiced. I can't imagine what would've happened if they didn't**
Immediately after
Our 6th grade neighbor girl came to our door, crying, as she was at her house by herself and about to leave for school when the earthquake hit. She came in and sat under the table with us. I’m not sure how long we sat there, I had a million things running through my head while trying to appear calm and collected for the kids. Is anyone hurt by either falling things or broken glass? Is the gas leaking? How am I going to get out of the house to turn off the gas if needed with these kids and the aftershocks? Will Adam be able to leave the hospital to come home? Wait, will he be able to get home??!?! (there is only 1 road between Eagle River and Anchorage) Will Tundra stay in our yard? (Thank goodness he was already outside in our backyard when it happened or I imagine his paws would’ve been cut up from all the glass. He came running up the inside stairs to us at one point and I had to rush him back downstairs and outside before he stepped on glass in between aftershocks. Our downstairs sliding glass door had slid open, even though it had been locked, and he entered through that door. Even though our yard is fenced, he was able to squeeze through a spot and run to the front yard in the panic. I wasn’t able to get outside to tie him up, I just prayed he stayed home. AND HE DID!) My phone wasn’t working but thankfully our neighbor girls’ was, so I was able to quickly check in with the kids’ parents, Adam, and text our parents that we were safe. As much as I wanted to scream and cry, I had to hold myself together for the kids. I knew I was terrified and couldn’t imagine how they felt. Poor Ashton kept his face down, covering his head for the longest time. Again, I have no idea how long anything lasted but I remember asking him to cuddle with me a couple times and he refused to move. I used the phone light until I felt comfortable enough to step out from under the table to get the flashlight we had in a basket on the counter. Thankfully it is a childcare licensing requirement that everyone wear indoor shoes in case of an emergency evacuation, to keep feet safe and somewhat warm/dry in all weather conditions. This was crucial for me as I had to step across glass to answer the door for our neighbor girl, to get the flashlight, and to later get the boys to the couch. I swept away as much glass as I could and dried up the dog water that had spilled and started seeping towards our safe area, I got pillows and blankets from the couch, then tried to tell the kids a story but we kept getting distracted by more shaking, text messages/calls, and thoughts running through my head of what needed to be done and how I was going to do it by myself with 4 kids. I felt like even though we were safe under the table, we needed to be outside. I couldn’t smell gas and our house appeared to be structurally okay at first observation but I couldn’t imagine there wasn’t a gas leak or a weak wall or floor with how intense the earthquake was and how the house looked. Plus there was glass EVERYWHERE. I wanted us to be outside but we couldn’t get there without first getting to our snow gear, putting it on, and then getting outside. I couldn’t get 5 steps away from the kids without an aftershock, I couldn’t leave them and I couldn’t bring them with me. Finally, once the aftershocks somewhat slowed, I quarantined everyone to our couch. Away from glass and anything that could fall on them. Thankful again that the boys already had their indoor shoes on since keeping two 2-year old boys on a couch seemed impossible at that time. However, they weren’t on the couch looking at books for long before the other kiddo’s dad showed up. I was shocked he was able to make it back to Eagle River so quickly and this made me hopeful for Adam. At this point, I knew Adam had to check in with the hospital before he could leave. The boy’s dad told me traffic was getting backed up due to vehicles being diverted from the highway through Eagle River and back on to the highway (later found out this was due to a damaged bridge). With one less toddler, I felt comfortable enough to make a run for our snow gear to get outside to officially check for gas leaks, to view our house from the outside, and to check the neighbors. We saw cracks in the ground that went deeper than the snow/ice layer. We felt a few large aftershocks that have a completely different feel when you’re outside. At some point I learned that Adam was released to come back home, but we didn’t know how long it would take him to actually get home. Our neighbor girl was getting cold as we couldn’t get to her full set of winter gear at her house and I discovered our play room was actually perfectly safe for them and Tundra to hang out in, whew! They played and ate snacks while I tried to gather myself, supplies, further check-out the house, and tend to Josie. At some point, I also had to dig my way through the garage to check our freezers. One is a stand-up and had come open with meat pouring out. That door needed to be closed and kept closed since the power was out. Surprisingly, my phone started working again and I was flooded with text messages and phone calls. I was then able to call and check-in with my dad. When I saw that my cousin, Danae, was calling, I debated on answering but I just had to let loose to someone. I was struggling to hold it together and it was all I could do to not cry to my dad.... I didn't want to worry him more. I apologized to her because I didn't want to worry her either but I couldn't hold it in anymore. The kids were busy in the playroom, so I just cried to her. I needed that in order to continue on, thanks Danae!
That afternoon
Thank goodness Adam got home much sooner than I anticipated and by this time there was indeed a strong gas smell once we opened the door outside.....somebody in our neighborhood had a leak. Adam and another neighbor checked our culdesac houses’ meters and didn't find any issues. Once Adam was able to come in and take a look, I could tell it was worse than he expected! (Anchorage/his hospital was further from the epicenter and didn't get hit as bad) We were planning to have neighbors at our house that night for warmth by the fire and food from our camping/emergency supply but the electricity actually came back on that afternoon! Our neighbor girl stayed at our house and watched movies with Ashton on her iPad while her mother finished duties at her childcare center on base and tried to get home. She had to wait awhile at a gas station in order to get a full tank that would hopefully get her home in the traffic. Luckily, Adam left when he did because his colleague left 10 minutes after him, but it took her 4 hours longer to get home! Adam and I started the task of cleaning up after taking pictures and videos for insurance, memory, and story-telling purposes.
The following days
We were planning to go on our first winter tenting trip to Long Lake for ice fishing that weekend, but of course that got cancelled. School was cancelled the following week so that structure and safety assessments could be completed. Some schools aren't able to open up the rest of the year! Teachers in those schools were escorted to their classrooms with a limited time to fill a certain number of boxes to take with them to their new temporary location at a neighboring school for the remainder of the year. Uck, I can't imagine!
We found out that our insurance doesn’t cover earthquake damage, having specific earthquake insurance isn’t reasonable, and so hardly anyone has it. Those who did had a 10% of house value deductible to meet first, but majority of people did not have more than $30,000 worth of damage. However, a house the street over from us literally cracked in ½ and sunk 8 feet. We live in a "cookie-cutter house" neighborhood.... the question still stands as to why that house had severe damage and nobody else's did. One of the men living at that house was home with their dogs- they got out of the house without sustaining any injuries, incredible! A whole neighborhood of houses was built on marshy terrain and they have sunk. Besides houses of course, businesses, roads, bridges, etc were damaged as well. However, the engineers have done an excellent job up here after learning from the 1964 earthquake(magnitude 9), so damage COULD have been much much worse, resulting in more injuries or even deaths. It is unbelievable that there weren’t any deaths. This experience has proven how resilient, positive, and hard-working Alaskans are. There was an article in the local paper written by a woman who moved here 4 months ago, she describes her experience and how impressed she was with the recovery of our community, how quickly roads were repaired, and mostly how she doesn’t think she can ever live up to being called an Alaskan.
People could sign up for a free structural analysis from the municipality engineers. Our house checked out!
We live near the joint air-force, military base and can always hear (and sometimes feel) when they are performing controlled detonations. Of course this was scheduled like 1.5 weeks after the earthquake and they continued with it as planned. However, it didn't last as long as usual and coincidentally stopped after people were in an uproar and we had a mag 5+ aftershock. I never cared to look into this more.
The aftershocks
The aftershocks have been torture! They were frequent and significant in size for the first week and then started to lessen. However, we are still getting them today- January 12, 2019. We knew they would last a couple weeks, but were hopeful they would be done by the time we returned from Iowa after Christmas. Since we've been back there has been at least one size 4.5 or larger each day, plus dozens of others. Luckily, we don't feel all of them. We continue to be woken up in the middle of the night. We are now trained to hear the aftershocks before the shaking starts, crazy huh? There is a low rumbling sound and then the shaking. In fact, one of the aftershocks this week was the loudest I have heard and I had the kids under the table again. It was only a 4.7 (HA! "only") but I thought for sure it was going to be another big one. It took me over 10 minutes to calm down from that one. My neighbor said they same. They don't bother some people, including Adam. I am jealous.
Ashton
Oh, my sweet boy. My heart hurt the most for him on the day of the earthquake and still today. Like I said, he was too scared to move or even uncover his eyes when I was trying to comfort him under the table. He was very concerned for the aftershocks throughout the next week, he would panic a bit and asked for a lot of hugs. I don't recall how long it took before he would leave the room without one of us. He had a sleep regression and still comes to our bed. The earthquake came through in his play. >Once the mommy truck pushed two smaller trucks under the coffee table for the earthquake and told them they were safe there.< He still points to cracks in the wall and talks about the earthquake. I have to try my hardest to remain calm for aftershocks, as to not worry him. It sucks.
Now
Adam has
completed a majority of our repairs to the house and “things.” I have vacuumed, wiped down, reorganized,
repeated, but am still finding random little pieces of glass….where are they
still coming from?
We have yet to replace broken items, we just don't care to right now and have enough of everything to make due. Shopping for and buying new dishes just isn't appealing or necessary at this time! Amazingly, our TV still works with the DVD player or connected to a computer. This was critical for us to try and clean up the house with a 2 year old boy.....he's probably had enough screen time for the next month! We will eventually get a new TV, if we ever think we need every function again!
The rumbling of airplanes, helicopters, trucks, kids stomping, etc is so much more threatening these days..... instant rise in the heart beat. Like I said, they sound like the start of an aftershock.
Again, I am so proud of the boys. They sure are brave, resilient little dudes! Their almost daily chats/playing out the earthquake or aftershocks tugs at my heart, yet makes me so much more amazed by them!
We are ready for the next one. It's not a matter of IF it will happen, it's WHEN. I continue to encourage everyone to practice for natural disasters and emergencies with your children, it CAN happen to you. I practiced earthquake drills and fire drills with the daycare kids each month. (only fire drills/emergency evacuations are required by daycare licensing....I thought that was silly and took it upon myself to practice for earthquakes too. I foresee a change in regulations soon)
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REACHED OUT TO US! We've felt so much support from our Iowa and Alaska family and friends. Check-ins and offering to listen has helped emotionally. Offers to help replace or fix things are so appreciated! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
We have yet to replace broken items, we just don't care to right now and have enough of everything to make due. Shopping for and buying new dishes just isn't appealing or necessary at this time! Amazingly, our TV still works with the DVD player or connected to a computer. This was critical for us to try and clean up the house with a 2 year old boy.....he's probably had enough screen time for the next month! We will eventually get a new TV, if we ever think we need every function again!
The rumbling of airplanes, helicopters, trucks, kids stomping, etc is so much more threatening these days..... instant rise in the heart beat. Like I said, they sound like the start of an aftershock.
Again, I am so proud of the boys. They sure are brave, resilient little dudes! Their almost daily chats/playing out the earthquake or aftershocks tugs at my heart, yet makes me so much more amazed by them!
We are ready for the next one. It's not a matter of IF it will happen, it's WHEN. I continue to encourage everyone to practice for natural disasters and emergencies with your children, it CAN happen to you. I practiced earthquake drills and fire drills with the daycare kids each month. (only fire drills/emergency evacuations are required by daycare licensing....I thought that was silly and took it upon myself to practice for earthquakes too. I foresee a change in regulations soon)
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REACHED OUT TO US! We've felt so much support from our Iowa and Alaska family and friends. Check-ins and offering to listen has helped emotionally. Offers to help replace or fix things are so appreciated! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
If interested, you should google pictures from our community and even the 1964 earthquake. The images of roads and bridges are pretty crazy.
We do have video footage from our surveillance camera. I am not able to upload it, maybe Adam will.
Again, thanks everyone for your support and prayers. We are grateful!
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