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1. Geographic Location: SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA. The district’s boundaries coincide with those of the Municipality of Anchorage. The city center is located on Alaska’s mainland at the head of Cook Inlet between the Knik and Turnagain Arms. It is three hours flight time from Seattle. Municipal boundaries include Fire Island to the west, border the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to the north and the Kenai Peninsula Borough to the south, and run east to a north-south line drawn between these two boroughs just east of Inner Lake George. The eastern boundary excludes the City of Whittier and the area around Passage Canal on the Prince William Sound. 2. Size and Activity: DISTRICT-WIDE POPULATION 264,000. The Municipality of Anchorage is Alaska’s major population center. It is the State’s center of commerce and the logistical hub for most of Alaska. Oil and gas industries, finance and real estate, transportation, communications, and government agencies are headquartered in Anchorage. Numerous recreation, visitor and tourist facilities and services are available and increasing numbers of cruise ships are calling on the Port of Anchorage each summer. Over 10,000 military personnel are stationed at Fort Richardson Army and Elmendorf Air Force Bases. Seasonal factors contribute to a fluctuating, though low unemployment rate. Airfields include Anchorage International, Merrill Field, Birchwood Float Plane Base, and Army and Air Force facilities. The Port of Anchorage handles 85% of the general cargo for the Alaska rail belt area and the Alaska Railroad connects Anchorage to Seward, Whittier and Fairbanks. 3. Communities: The district is a unified home rule municipality and includes the communities of Alyeska, Anchorage, Birchwood, Bird, Chugiak, Eagle River, Eklutna, Elmendorf AFB, Fort Richardson, Girdwood, Indian, Peters Creek, and Portage. 4. Hazards Analysis: HIGH RISK. A manifestation of the existing risk to the district’s population center, will affect the majority of the district’s people. Its available emergency response resources may require augmentation to respond to a major disaster. Wildland/urban interface fires are a threat. The district is subject to avalanches, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. The 1964 Earthquake and several more recent volcanic eruptions have proved that a major seismic event can be expected to impede transportation, complicating a response. Also, the community has not incorporated the results of its 1978 Harding-Lawson land subsidence study in subsequent planning and zoning. Thus, the seismic survivability of some recent construction is questionable. Anhydrous ammonia, chlorine gas, sulfur dioxide, and sulfuric acid solution are present in amounts greater than threshold planning quantities. Unknown quantities of these and other EHSs are transshipped within, and transit the district via ship, truck and the Alaska Railroad. 5. Staffing: FULL-TIME. The LEPC Chair is the municipal operations manager. LEPC staff functions are performed by municipal employees in the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). LEPC funding applications have requested a full time (39 hours per week) person for LEPC staff support. 6. Status of the Emergency Planning Process:
7. Plan Focus: ALL HAZARDS
10. LEPC Expectations: A program of routine reevaluation of the hazards and response capability within the Municipality to adjust for evolving hazards as population and businesses change. |
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Alaska State Emergency Response
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