Assessing the public information highway from the Mat-Su Borough’s earthquake of 2018

The earthquake of 2018 that struck Southcentral Alaska has left us all a bit unnerved. Even as we settle back into our normal routines, the aftershocks quickly jolt us back to 8:29 a.m., Friday Nov. 30. Harrowing moments that we, as a community and as individuals, will never forget. How we were so lucky as to not sustain more damage, injuries or deaths is really a minor miracle. If you need a reminder of just how fortunate we are go for a walk down Vine Road. The sheer magnitude of the 7.0 quake can be seen in that small stretch of fissured asphalt.

The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman’s building and equipment sustained an estimated $15,000 in damages. Most of that came at the expense of our press. Though we are able to print, the quake jarred the press enough to take it out of alignment. We have a crew coming next week to cut the lags securing the press to the concrete floor and then shift it back in alignment. Then they’ll pour new concrete and grout. If that’s all we sustain in damages, we’ll take it. We know it could have been a lot worse.

I’m particularly proud of our entire staff. After checking on their families, our team began checking on their co-workers to make sure they were safe. I was at my desk in the office when the earthquake struck with co-workers Christy Pinkerton, Nancy Downs and Lynn Werel, the only other staff in the building. The sounds of the rumble and panic will probably always stay with me. It’s a heck of thing to feel so out of control that you don’t know what the outcome will be. As the quake roared on thoughts of the roof caving in crept in my mind. Will I survive this? Once it stopped there was relief but only briefly while aftershocks came in waves.

Once I knew everyone was safe my thoughts turned telling the story to the community. I called our Managing Editor Jeremiah Bartz and fortunately he never lost power or Internet. His home became our information center. Taking the lead, Bartz divided up assignments between our two reporters Jacob Mann and Tim Rockey. Then he handed me my assignments. Like a good leader he took charge.

At 11:11 a.m., less than three hours after the earthquake started, I received a text from Mat-Su Borough School District Superintendent Dr. Monica Goyette with a complete update on the situation with the schools. We were able to get information out immediately. Our digital team at our home office in Tucson, Arizona, assisted us in making sure the information was broadcast in every platform we have. 5800 email subscribers, 21,500 Facebook followers, 21,340 users on our website and over 900 viewers through our Frontiersman app. That’s a lot of eyeballs to soak in information during an event that affected every single person in the Valley. Our app was the quickest way to get the information. My advice would be to download it today (CLICK HERE to get the APP). The one thing we learned is that the Anchorage media was anchored in Anchorage until Monday. We were the only reliable source in the Valley.

We should be particularly proud of our electric co-op. I really thought it would be days and not hours before we would see electrical power. At 3:30 a.m. on Saturday everyone was restored. I received that text from MEA Public Information Officer Julie Estey at 6:59 a.m. on Saturday and Estey answered her phone every time I called to get an update, then followed it with a text throughout that Friday. She also sent texts without me asking. The crew at MEA was outstanding.

Another team who should be proud of themselves is Mat-Su Regional Hospital. Alan Craft, the head of Marketing and Public Information, again did a fantastic job of keeping us informed. Their team went into an immediate ‘code black’ and was on the ready for patients. Although 117 people reported earthquake-related injuries, only two were serious. Craft was another who answered whenever we called or texted, staying in constant communication. Fortunately, they were able to assess right away that they sustained no structural damage while preparing for patients.

ENSTAR and MTA also communicated with us through press releases. Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle stayed in contact with me via phone for updates including setting up a Red Cross shelter at the Curtis Menard Center. He had his finger on the pulse of his city. Our reporter Tim Rockey was in contact with the city of Palmer and reporter Jacob Mann was checking in on the business districts in Palmer and Wasilla. Fred Meyer in Palmer and Three Bears on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway were the only grocery stores open most of Friday. Lines at the cash registers were deep, as were the lines at the available gas stations throughout the area. When I was in Fred Meyer Palmer speaking with customers I never had a sense of panic from anyone. They just wanted water in case their tap water was contaminated and some supplies.

A rumor began to fly that some unnamed geologist claimed we would receive another earthquake within days worse than the one we just had. The rumor started on social media and was the buzz in the Palmer Fred Meyer store amongst the customers. I was really thankful that our sister paper in Wenatchee, Washington, contributed two stories for us early on Friday, an early report on the earthquake overall and a history of earthquakes in Alaska. When I heard the rumor about the second quake, I’ll admit I began to get unnerved, so I called the Wenatchee World Managing Editor Russ Hemphill and asked him if his team would look into the rumor for us. Within an hour we had a story. The Wenatchee World is a daily newspaper so for them to set aside their own needs to help us is something I truly appreciated. The rumor was not true. You can check out the story titled, ‘Forecasting the aftershocks following Friday morning earthquake’. It’s on our website, app and Dec. 2 print edition.

This leaves the Mat-Su Borough and their communication to the public, or better put, the lack thereof. Every agency at the Monday evening press conference praised the Borough for their immediate response and professionalism. It would appear that they did a very good job. From emergency medical response to infrastructure damage, they were on it. There was only one problem — the general public had no idea. While the Anchorage municipality was holding emergency meetings and press conference after press conference to inform their public, we were hearing crickets from the Mat-Su Borough.

Otto Feather, director of Emergency services claimed responsibility with a ‘mea culpa’. His assessment on the lack of communication boiled down to a comfort level that the situation was under control. Although borough residents were acting responsibly and minimal injuries were reported, there was a need for consistent updates throughout the situation. All the borough had to do was turn on a TV or open up their Facebook apps to see how Anchorage leadership was handling the situation.

Why was Patty Sullivan, the Borough Public Affairs Director, pulled from the lead on providing the public information and updates in regards to the earthquake? No offense to Erin Leaders, the borough’s clean-up coordinator who was the lead, but Sullivan should have been given full control on scheduling press conferences and coordinating public statements. If borough management felt that Sullivan wasn’t up for the task, then that needs to be addressed. My personal experience with Sullivan is that she is. I’m not sure why borough leadership felt the need to make this change, but clearly something is amiss when your duty to keep the public inform falls short and your PIO officer isn’t part of the equation.

Tuesday at 2 p.m. there will be an emergency borough assembly meeting and the communication issue needs to addressed. Out of that meeting there should be an apology issued to the citizens of the Mat-Su Borough from the Mayor, the Assembly and the Borough Manager. Then, there should be a thorough review of how the Borough communicates with the community during a disaster situation should be conducted. From there, a step-by-step playbook should be on hand for not only the current Borough staff, but future borough staff. The borough will take their lumps on this one but it’s not too late for a public relations black eye to heal.

As the borough team had everything under control in their minds from an earthquake, the epicenter of which, was within the borough itself, the old cliché of ‘no news is good news’ goes out the window. Good news is news and there was much more to communicate then how the Borough was doing in handling the situation.

The public’s right to know is a basic principle of a functioning government body.

Published Stories Regarding the Earthquake

FRIDAY THE 30TH; Massive earthquake Rocks the ValleySecond Earthquake?The history of Alaska earthquakesForecasting the aftershocks following Friday morning earthquakeAuthorities survey damage, Valley residents stock up on water following Friday morning earthquakeTesting well water recommended after earthquakeSuperintendent to address condition of schools MondayHouston Middle most likely to remain closed through school year; At least 10 schools to reopen ThursdayBorough officials address efforts following earthquake