One year later: Looking back at the Nov. 30 earthquake

by Mariah DeJesus-Remaklus  |   

Management and facilities teams met in a classroom to discuss plans for earthquake recovery. We see one team member standing in front of the whiteboard, speaking. Everyone is wearing orange safety vests.

Finals were scheduled for the week following the earthquake, so the top priority was getting campus reopened in time. (Photo courtesy of Kirstin Olmstead)

This Saturday marks the first anniversary of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck about 8 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska on Nov. 30, 2018. Alaskans were just starting their Friday mornings when the quake hit at 8:29 a.m., and the community immediately jumped into action.

Subcontractors Trevor Todero and Steve Unfreid repair ceiling fixtures in the UAA Consortium Library exactly one week after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the campus. We see library books and other debris on the floor from the quake.

Subcontractors Trevor Todero and Steve Unfreid repair ceiling fixtures in the UAA Consortium Library exactly one week after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the campus. (Photo by James Evans / University of Alaska Anchorage)

Campus needed to be closed despite finals coming up the following week and fall commencement just a few weeks away. Yet UAA reopened after only five days thanks to the quick and organized efforts by management and facilities teams and many other community members, including UAA alumni. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we look back and appreciate all they did, and we are grateful no one was hurt.

To learn more about the earthquake recovery efforts, read "Shaken into action."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFXzqXEyBuM

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