Alaska officials want to know how the quake affected you, and about gaps in emergency alerts

A state agency wants Alaskans to share their experiences during the big Nov. 30 earthquake, including what public safety messages would have been useful and how individuals could have been better prepared.

The data will help the state better tailor safety messages before and during future quakes, said Kim Porter, a career epidemiology field officer with the Department of Health and Social Services.

The agency launched the roughly 10-minute, 20-question survey Wednesday at surveymonkey.com.

“We’re listening,” Porter said. “We’re hoping to learn how well our emergency communications worked in general. We’d like to know the limitations, what people thought worked well, and what they experienced during the earthquake.”

One question asks what information people wished they had received during the magnitude 7.0 quake, for topics such as road and building closures, or how to ensure homes are safe by looking for gas leaks and structural damage.

More than 500 surveys had been completed by Friday evening, she said.

Questions include what injuries and anxiety people experienced, including children, what services people used, and how Alaskans received public information such as the water-boiling advisory.

The results will be shared with the public and partner agencies in the future, Porter said.

“We planned to wrap the survey up at the end of January,” she said.