Wasilla senior complex resident shares experiences of 1964, 2018 earthquakes

WASILLA — A week after the Nov. 30 earthquake, Wasilla Area Senior Center CEO Chuck Foster was checking on a leak discovered in the facility’s fitness center.

But after the quake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck at 8:29 a.m. Nov. 30, Foster said the focus was on the wellbeing on the residents of the senior housing complex. He said that neighboring residents promptly ventured the halls to check on each other.

“That’s one of the things we really like about our apartment buildings is that it’s a bit of a community. So they checked on each other,” Foster said.

Foster also made note of the fast response of the residents’ relatives.

“And then, very quickly, family members of the folks, sons, daughters came to check on residents who live here. That mobilizing of their support network coming on campus probably leaving their own shaken work or own shaken house to go over check on mom or dad. That happened and that was really nice to see,” Foster said.

Foster said that in light of the earthquake and its effect in well water, they are now stocked up bottled water for the next emergency.

“Because seniors and dehydration is not a good mix,” Foster said.

Longtime WASI resident JoAnn Selmont said that ever since the infamous 1964 earthquake, she’s kept plenty of water stored just in case.

“That was my first earthquake I’ve been in in my life,” Selmont said.

As the lunch crowd was leaving the cafeteria, Selmont recalled the traumatic memories of the 1964 earthquake. She said that she was living in the interior region at the time, near Delta Junction.

“It was a disaster to every cell in my body. I totally fell apart at the seams,” Selmont said.

Selmont said that her family was living on Fort Greely in temporary housing. She said that foundation was not very sturdy and several mishaps ensued during the shaking. She said that pipes burst, spewing hot steam, which she had to maneuver herself and children around.

“I said, no way do I want to get steamed,” Selmont said.

She said that she took her kids to the mud porch (arctic entry) and saw electric wires touching the snow. She said that she pulled everyone back, holding her 2-year-old in her arms while her other children pawed at her legs for comfort.

Selmont said that the mud porch rocked back and forth several times during the quakes. She said it separated from the building and moved back, again and again.

“That dumb thing lasted five minutes. That was a lifetime,” Selmont said.

Selmont said that the days following the earthquake served as a somber lesson. They didn’t have any safe water to drink and her children complained of being thirsty.

“I didn’t know then to have back up water. Since then, I’ve always have backups of water,” Selmont said.

Selmont said that she was sleeping in bed when the 2018 earthquake struck. She said that if she put the 1964 and 2018 earthquakes together on a scale of severity from one to 10, she would place the 2018 quake at around a five.

“There is no comparison,” Selmont said.

Overall, Foster said there was less than $1,000 worth of property damage to the senior center.

“That’s really remarkable that it wasn’t more than that,” Foster said.

He said other than a few fallen items and such, the damage was very minimal on the WASI campus.

The earthquake shut down WASI’s power until about 12 in the afternoon, according to Foster. He said that one of the first priorities during the blackout was to get the backup generators online.

Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com