Friday, November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, suffered a magnitude 7.1 earthquake followed by thousands of aftershocks. Though we always think of California when we think earthquakes, this quake was larger than the infamous 1989 Loma Prieta event (a.k.a. the World Series Quake). Alaska was also the site of the 1964 Good Friday quake: the most powerful earthquake ever to hit the United States. How did the Alaska Court System’s emergency response plans hold up when put to the test of a major quake? What can we take away from Alaska’s experience and its preparations?
Christine Johnson and Alyce Roberts share their experiences and their insights having dealt firsthand with this powerful force of nature.
Show Notes
> Additional Resources to Accompany the Alaska Earthquake Podcast
>About the Presenters
Christine Johnson has been the Administrative Director of the Alaska Court System since 2009. A life-long Alaskan, she is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the University of Michigan Law School. She and her family lived in Anchorage during the 1964 earthquake.
Alyce Roberts is the Special Projects Coordinator for the Alaska Court System. As a member of the court’s senior staff, she is the AOC’s primary liaison with the clerks of court. In this capacity, she is responsible for developing the annual statewide clerks of court conference program, facilitating the sessions and serving as a presenter. Alyce regularly works with court colleagues and justice partners to propose revisions to court rules and develop statewide clerical procedures. She serves on the Alaska Supreme Court’s Civil Rules Advisory Committee. She has worked for the Alaska Court System since 1989, holding a number of positions including clerk of court in Anchorage (the state’s largest general jurisdiction court). She serves on the National Association for Court Management’s (NACM) Board of Directors, chairs NACM’s Communication Committee, and she is a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management (2010).
