KODIAK -- Residents of Kodiak are receiving a survey also being distributed in other cities in the United States asking how well prepared the communities are for a natural disaster, such as a tsunami or earthquake.
The survey, funded by the National Science Foundation, was first distributed in Kodiak a year ago.
Other places where the survey is being conducted are communities in California, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Puerto Rico.
Liesel Ritchie, research coordinator, visited with city and borough administrators in November 2006 when the first round of questionnaires was given to Kodiak residents.
"The objective has been to look at awareness and preparedness in case a tsunami were to hit Kodiak," Ritchie said.
Unlike many areas where there are earthquakes and volcanoes, Alaska and the Pacific Ocean area are more prepared if a major tsunami were to hit, she said.
According to the Tsunami Research Group of the University of South California, Los Angeles, during the past century, four large and well-documented tsunamis were generated in waters off the Alaska coast. These include the 1946 and 1957 Aleutian events, the 1958 Lituya Bay event and the 1964 Alaska earthquake.
Ritchie said Kodiak residents are likely more sensitive to tsunamis because of memories of the 1964 earthquake and tsunami that brought waters into the middle of town.
The city of Kodiak was struck by 30-foot waves from the earthquake-generated tsunami in 1964, which destroyed most waterfront industries and much of the fishing fleet.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.3 to 9 on the Richter scale, sent waves as far away as Hawaii and Crescent City, Calif.
Several coastal communities on Kodiak Island were damaged as well. The villages of Afognak and Kaguyak were abandoned.
Ritchie said the survey focuses on background attitudes and beliefs about tsunamis, specific awareness, and becoming tsunami ready.
Ritchie is a principal investigator and researcher with the University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Center and the Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University. There is more general awareness of natural disasters recently because of events like Hurricane Katrina and the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami, she said.
During the first round of the Kodiak survey, approximately 350 people were given the questionnaire. From 125 to 150 people are filling out the survey for the second round, distributed in October.
"We are encouraging anyone who has received a survey to take the time to fill it out," she said.
Results of the survey are expected to be available in spring 2008.
