Earthquake

The Washington Monument is an amazing sight, and on Monday, Alaskan Brandon Latham had the best view the 555 ft. structure had to offer - standing outside the top window. Latham is a park ranger at Denali National Park. He's also an expert climber who was recruited to help a team of engineers climb around the outside of the monument as they check for damage sustained in August's 5.8 earthquake. The engineers weren't able to work on the monument Tuesday because of lightning, but Latham said he and another climber set up the rappelling gear.

An Anchorage woman who was badly injured in Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti has had her right foot amputated. Christa Brelsford's lower right leg was crushed by rubble from the 7.0 magnitude temblor that devastated the Haitian capital and has likely claimed tens -- perhaps hundreds -- of thousands of lives. Brelsford was transported to a hospital in Miami on Wednesday where doctors were forced to amputate. On Thursday a remarkably upbeat Brelsford recounted her harrowing experience, which started in a two-story concrete building.

by Ashton Goodell Monday, April 5, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Alaska volcano observatory says a series of small earthquakes began occurring early Monday morning near the summit. Scientists don't know if the earthquakes will result in any eruptions, but say that they could. "We saw similar seismicity prior to the eruptions last year in April and March… but the same type of seismicity occurred at the end of December of 2009, just three months ago, which lasted for three days and didn't culminate in any particular activity," said U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist Game McGimsey.

Anchorage and Southcentral residents were shook with a magnitude 4.6 earthquake on Wednesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. USGS had a preliminary magnitude 4.7 quake then minutes later at magnitude 4.8 when the quake happened around 7:02 a.m. about 8 miles southwest of Anchorage. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center listed the quake's depth at 37 miles. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration said a tsnumai will not be generated.

The Anchorage Police Department said Tuesday the human remains found Monday afternoon in Earthquake Park can only be identified by dental records. "T he body's in too bad of a state of decomposition that I can't even tell you the sex yet , "  said APD Lt. Anthony Henry. Henry said they do not know how long the identification process will take. Police wouldn't give an estimate on how the long the body had been in that location. It was found by a passerby just off the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail between the path and the water around 2:45p.m.

by The Associated Press Saturday, June 5, 2010 KENAI, Alaska -- The Alaska Earthquake Information Center reports a magnitude 4.0 earthquake Friday evening in the Cook Inlet region. The light quake was felt in Kenai, Anchorage, Homer, Soldotna, Eagle River and Anchor Point but there were no reports of damage. The quake was centered about 30 miles west of Kenai at a depth of about 52 miles. Kenai is about 80 miles southwest of Anchorage. The earthquake center is a cooperative program of the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska and the U.S. Geological Survey.

by The Associated Press Tuesday, April 6, 2010 NEW YORK -- A magnitude 7.8 earthquake has rattled Indonesia's northwest island of Sumatra, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Tuesday. A tsunami watch was issued for the region, said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported blackouts in Medan and Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province. The quake struck at 5:15 a.m. local time -- 2:15 p.m. in Alaska -- and was 125 miles northwest of Sibolga, in Sumatra, Indonesia and 880 miles northwest of Jakarta, the USGS said.

As Anchorage gets back on its feet after this week's massive wind storm, Anchorage helped put on an emergency preparedness fair, to make sure people know whatto do before the next disaster strikes. Hundreds showed up Saturday, and organizers were expecting a bigger turnout than last year, when more than a thousand people showed up. A lot of different agencies were at the fair from the Red Cross to the Salvation Army. There was even an earthquake simulator to show kids what a strong earthquake can feel like.

A longtime Red Cross volunteer and relief worker in Alaska is leaving her post after more than 16 years of service. Kelly Hurd helped refugees in Kosovo in the late 1990s, helped feed victims of the 2002 Turkey earthquake, and was on scene after the 2005 tsunami in Sri Lanka to provide relief. After more than 10 years of international disaster response, Hurd was a clear choice to send to help after the devastating earthquake in Haiti earlier this year. Hurd plans to take a job with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, but she says she won't be going far and will still respond to major disasters as a volunteer.