Civil Air Patrol (CAP) squadrons from Kenai and Homer are participating in a statewide emergency communications exercise simulating the aftermath of an extended earthquake, based on the earthquake that struck Anchorage in 2018. CAP, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, including multiple squadrons throughout Alaska, has embarked on the program to prepare the state for Disaster Response with a significant exercise from August 8-10.
The “Twenty Seconds More” operation imagines the 2018 Anchorage earthquake lasting 50 seconds instead of 30 — a change that would have dramatically worsened infrastructure damage, including power loss and communications failure.
The Kenai Composite Squadron and Homer Cadet Squadron are among 12 CAP units across Alaska using high-frequency (HF) radios to maintain communications in this simulation.
The goal is to test CAP’s ability to respond during a major disaster when internet and cellular services are down…