PALMER, Alaska _ It was more than 90 minutes before the Matanuska-Susitna Borough posted any public information after Friday's destructive magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Alaska.
Now the lack of earthquake communications to the borough's 100,000-plus residents is under fire from some residents _ including the borough's own mayor.
Responding Sunday on Facebook to weekend criticism on social media about the relative lack of information, Mayor Vern Halter described "a total breakdown from the standpoint of public relations and information sharing from the Borough."
The public relations department "was cut out of the process," Halter said. He has requested an Assembly special meeting to discuss the situation.
The mayor said he's also asked for a closed-door executive session "since employee business may be discussed."
Halter couldn't immediately be reached for comment Monday. The borough has scheduled an emergency meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday for a public hearing to discuss shifting money to cover quake costs.
The quake's epicenter was in Mat-Su, on Point MacKenzie across Knik Arm from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. It initially knocked out power to 50,000 people. Borough firefighters, especially in the Wasilla area, responded to dozens of calls ranging from people trapped beneath debris to water- and gas-line breaks to structure fires.
Nearly 120 people reported injuries ranging from cuts to smoke inhalation, according to authorities and Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.
The main public information officer for the borough, Patty Sullivan, was not handling earthquake information during the disaster. Information requests from the Anchorage Daily News were not returned Friday morning by the deputy director of emergency services or the borough manager.
The first official borough update came midmorning Friday from Erin Leaders, who normally works as community cleanup coordinator in the solid waste division. The borough later disseminated a link where the public could report damage.
Leaders posted several updates over the weekend and on Monday. Leaders said Monday that every effort was made to keep the public informed in the hours after the quake. The only updates Leaders was authorized to provide involved the condition of borough roads and infrastructure.
She couldn't say why Sullivan wasn't serving as public information officer during the earthquake.
Sullivan couldn't immediately be reached for comment. She provided regular updates after major disasters such as the Sockeye Fire in 2015 and major flooding in 2012 and 2006.
The Municipality of Anchorage has held numerous news conferences since Friday. Anchorage police issued regular updates throughout the days since the quake.
Complaints about Mat-Su on social media ranged from criticism that Halter should have joined Anchorage officials at their press appearances to overall disappointment with the relative silence from Mat-Su compared to Alaska's largest city.
"There has been little to no information or support from any of the borough leaders. This, of course, does not include our police, fire, EMS crews," one commenter wrote on a Mat-Su news Facebook group. "I am a very disappointed constituent in our borough."
On Sunday, leaders posted a response to the growing public criticism, saying the borough did numerous interviews with media but was "very fortunate" that damage was "limited to a few roads ... and school buildings which are still being assessed."
