The supply chain of food and other goods delivered to the Port of Anchorage, Alaska, from the US’ “lower 48” states has not been disrupted by the powerful earthquake that caused widespread damage to roads in the Anchorage area.
“The ships are coming in on schedule, the supply lines are at this point uninterrupted,” Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said Sunday at a news conference.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Friday morning last week rattled the state’s largest city, swaying buildings and fraying nerves. There were no reports of deaths, serious injuries or structural damage to buildings.
However, roads took the brunt of the damage, especially the scenic Glenn Highway, the closest thing Alaska has to an interstate highway, which links the state’s largest city to suburban communities to the north.
Traffic has been snarled since the quake. Delays came as drivers were diverted around road damage on temporary detours or the highway was reduced to one lane while crews try to reconstruct the roadway after the temblor caused sinkholes and buckled pavement.
Employees who live north of Anchorage were being encouraged to take yesterday off or work from home if possible to reduce traffic. Alaska Governor Bill Walker, who was to leave office at noon yesterday, gave state workers in the Anchorage area the day off to help reduce the number of cars on the highway. Schools have been closed until Monday next week, which should also reduce traffic.
Walker said he would not be traveling to the rural village of Noorvik for the swearing in of Alaska governor-elect Mike Dunleavy yesterday, but would instead remain in Anchorage to keep working on recovery efforts.
Roads are not the only transportation worry in Alaska.
About 90 percent of all the goods sold in Alaska are delivered to the Port of Anchorage, where officials have completed a preliminary damage assessment.
“Everything looked good,” Anchorage Municipal Manager Bill Falsey said. “There was some structural concerns with some of the trestles. We have got some things on a watch list but nothing that should impede operations.”
Two major cargo companies operate at the port. One was offloading barges as normal on Sunday and the other company was scheduled to offload barges yesterday after successfully testing its crane system.
Jet fuel was also being unloaded at another terminal on Sunday.
“We’re estimating we have on hand now automotive gasoline supplies that will be good for at least three weeks, and that the next shipment comes in on Dec. 7,” he said. “We’re not expecting any disruptions to those supply chains.”
Officials on Saturday encouraged Alaskans not to make a run on grocery stores, saying that there was no reason to hoard food.
However, at least one grocery store on Sunday morning had no milk and little to no bread, bottled water or bananas.
Berkowitz said that the stories he had heard, particularly from grocery stores, in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake was of cooperation and sharing.
“Even when people were initially concerned, people who might have been reaching for the last item, looked over and saw someone else and said, `Yes, we are sharing this with you,’” he said.
He also touted Alaskans’ longstanding tradition to stock up for long winters.
“I would encourage people, once the ships get in, once things settle back down, make sure you have the emergency preparations, the emergency kits that you should have,” he said.
Schools will be closed for the week so damage assessments can be conducted on about 4,000 classrooms in 86 schools and four other facilities, comprising 74 hectares, to make sure they are safe for staff and students, Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop said on Sunday.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was