Alaska deployed an interagency damage assessment team of borough and state officials to the Alaska Peninsula following the magnitude 8.2 earthquake that occurred July 28, according to the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The damage assessment team visited Perryville, Chignik Lagoon, and Chignik Bay to assess the impacts of quake and to meet with local officials.
Residents and local officials in the communities were relieved no injuries occurred and that damages from the earthquake were minimal. The damage assessment team observed a few cracks in drywall, some small cracks in the ground, and slight shifting of homes. All buildings and homes were in usable condition, and no damage to water and power generation or distribution were identified. A frequent theme that was discussed during the assessment was the tsunami warning system, evacuation protocols, and evacuation shelters.
The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings that extended to low lying regions of the Kenai Peninsula including Kodiak, Homer and Seward. Kenai Peninsula Borough Emergency Manager Dan Nelson said that residents evacuated low-lying areas after receiving orders from officials, “It really went well. The traffic moved and visitors and residents did the right thing and they were on it. Seward did the same thing, very, very orderly. Everything was working well. Folks got out of there, but it sounds they came out and folks were able to get up to the high school or out of town relatively quickly with no problems.”
Bryan Fisher, Director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management:
“I’d like to thank local and tribal leaders throughout the region for their calm, effective response to the earthquake and tsunami warning. We all feel fortunate that the earthquake was deep enough and far enough that no significant damage occurred.”
In addition to the magnitude 8.2 2021 Chignik earthquake, the region has felt two additional powerful earthquakes in the last 12 months. On July 22, 2020, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurred, and on Oct 19, 2020, a magnitude 7.6 occurred. The 2021 Chignik earthquake is the largest earthquake in the United States since the 1965 Rat Island Earthquake and ranks as one of the most powerful earthquakes worldwide in the last five years.