We tied up to the city dock not knowing what to do next when Charlie Warner, a friend of mine, that had been staying at my house while working on the construction of the newly rebuilt cold storage came down on the dock. Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged. Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), Committee on the Alaska Earthquake. Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis, which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. About 20 miles (32 km) of the Seward Highway sank below the high-water mark of Turnagain Arm; the highway and its bridges were raised and rebuilt in 1964–66. HMC-0051. comment. Vertical displacement of up to 38 feet (11.5 m) occurred, affecting an area of 100,000 square miles (260,000 km2) within Alaska. The Tenth U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering will provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to share the latest knowledge and techniques to mitigate the damaging effects of earthquakes and tsunamis. Close-up of Government Hill elementary school, which was destroyed by the Government Hill landslide. Six hundred miles (970 km) of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 ft (18 m), releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. USGS circular published one month after the earthquake by Arthur Grantz, George Plafker, and Reuben Kachadoorian detailing their scientific investigations of the quake. Alaska earthquake of 1964, earthquake that occurred in south-central Alaska on March 27, 1964, with a moment magnitude of 9.2. Now ranked a magnitude 9.2, the second-largest ever recorded, the earthquake radically transformed the young state. [28] On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake. 2:15 Within minutes one created a wave 20 stories high in parts of Alaska. Across south-central Alaska (mainly in Anchorage), ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis were caused by the earthquake. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. Sources vary as to the magnitude of this earthquake, in part because a variety of scales are used to measure earthquakes. IRIS video directed by Robert F. Butler explaining the science behind the earthquake. On March 27th, 1964, the second largest instrumentally recorded earthquake worldwide rocked southern Alaska for 4 to 5 minutes. The March 27, 1964, earthquake was accomp anied by crustal deformation-including warping, horizontal distortion, and faulting-over probably more than 110,000 square miles of land and sea bottom in south-central Alaska. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Map showing ground motion and shaking intensity based on instrumental measurements of shaking along with information about local geology and the earthquake’s location and magnitude. [3][9], As a result of the earthquake, 131 people are believed to have died:[3] Nine died as a result of the earthquake itself and another 122 died from the subsequent tsunami all over the world. The community of Girdwood was also confined to the southern side of the Seward Highway when water rushed into Turnagain Arm and flooded or destroyed any buildings left standing to the north of the highway. The March 27, 1964, earthquake shook the Homer area for about 3 minutes. It is also the second largest earthquake ever recorded, next to the M9.5 earthquake in Chile in 1960. USGS published the results of investigations of the Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964 in a series of six Professional Papers. The epicenter of the earthquake was 12.4 mi (20 km) north of Prince William Sound, 78 miles (125 km) east of Anchorage and 40 miles (64 km) west of Valdez. Run-up of 67 m (220 ft) at Shoup Bay, Alaska. [18][19][20], Twelve people were killed by the tsunami in or near Crescent City, California, while four children were killed on the Oregon coast at Beverly Beach State Park. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/. "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". [5] Large rockslides were also caused, resulting in great property damage. Duration estimates range from 3 to 5 minutes. This page was last edited on 31 March 2021, at 03:54. Deadly tidal waves. [4] Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, "M9.2 - The Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of March 27, 1964", US Geological Survey report on the earthquake, Historic Earthquakes: Prince William Sound, Alaska, The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964, "Tsunami generated by Good Friday quake devastated Oregon Coast 50 years ago Thursday", "The day in 1964 when a tsunami ravaged Crescent City", "Remembering the Deadly 75-Foot Tidal Wave that Leveled Crescent City in 1964", ushistory.com: Great Alaskan Quake of 1964, "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted", "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit", "USGS Release: 40th Anniversary of "Good Friday" Earthquake Offers New Opportunities for Public and Building Safety Partnerships (3/26/2004)", National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, "Helping Hand" Military response to Good Friday earthquake, Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska, March 1964, "When a Quake Shook Alaska, a Radio Reporter Led the Public Through the Devastating Crisis", "Genie Chance and the Great Alaska Earthquake", The Face of Disaster: The Great Alaska Earthquake – US Office of Civil Defense, 1964 Good Friday Great Alaskan Earthquake, The Effects of the March 28, 1964 Alaska Tsunami in British Columbia, Canada, Anchorage, AK Good Friday Earthquake, Mar 1964, Fifty Years Since the Great Alaska Earthquake: The Role of First Responders in Catastrophic Disaster Planning, Tsunami Forecast Model Animation: Alaska 1964, Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1964_Alaska_earthquake&oldid=1015198680, 1964 natural disasters in the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist Lidia Selkregg, the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city. Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. M9.2 Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of March 27, 1964 Scientific Background. Tsunami waves were noted in over 20 countries, including Peru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Mexico, and in the continent of Antarctica. This caused much of the uneven ground which is the result of ground shifted to the opposite elevation. [9], Most damage occurred in Anchorage, 75 mi (120 km) northwest of the epicenter. Reviews Reviewer: DBeckstead - favorite favorite favorite - August 23, 2013 Subject: Alaskan Earthquake … Prince William Sound, Alaska, earthquake of March 27, 1964. United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993. The area is now Earthquake Park. !! Abridged from [30] She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief. 2:19 Some travelled across the Pacific wreaking havoc in coastal Oregon, California, and Hawaii. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. [21] Other coastal towns in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged. Most coastal towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island areas, especially the major ports of Seward, Whittier and Kodiak were heavily damaged by a combination of seismic activity, subsidence, post-quake tsunamis and/or earthquake-caused fires. Alaska 1964 earthquake pictures like the one above, remind us of just how destructive the quake was for the people of Anchorage who saw their homes torn apart. Although the school was destroyed, the nearby water tower was undamaged. [26] The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake. Fifty years later, it continues to shape Alaska, its people, and the science of earthquakes. This opinion piece by USGS geologist Peter Haeussler, et al. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. [30] Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families. Free USGS Public Lecture February 27 MENLO PARK, Calif. — On March 27 th, 1964, the second largest … Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark. On March 27, 1964, at 6:36 p.m. AKST, a fault between the Pacific and North American plates ruptured near College Fjord in Prince William Sound. [citation needed], A 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wave reached Prince Rupert, British Columbia, just south of the Alaska Panhandle, about three hours after the earthquake. Earthquake source used: Johnson, J. M., K. Satake, S. R. Holdahl, and J. Sauber, The 1964 Prince William Sound earthquake: Joint inversion of tsunami and geodetic data, J. Geophys. Valdez with 32 dead was not totally destroyed, but after three years, the town relocated to higher ground four miles (6.4 km) west of its original site. Videos. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at Prudhoe Bay. Girdwood was relocated inland and Portage was abandoned. The earthquake rupture started approximately 25 km beneath the surface, with its epicenter about 6 miles (10 km) east of the mouth of College Fiord, 56 miles (90 km) west of Valdez and 75 miles (120 km) east of Anchorage. Nine more struck over the next three weeks. Historical Vignette 047 - The Corps Helped Rebuild Alaska following a Disastrous March 1964 Earthquake . 10 Amazing Facts About the 1964 Alaska Earthquake Geologic shake-up. Now, he’s a focus of the PBS series, "We’ll Meet Again: 1964 Earthquake" with Ann Curry. [17] The damage in British Columbia was estimated at CA$10 million ($81 million in 2018 Canadian dollars or $76 million in 2019 US dollars). These films were shot by amateur and professional cameramen in the hours and days following the earthquake at locations such as Anchorage, Kodiak, Seward, Valdez, Chenega, Afognak. On Good Friday afternoon, 27 March, a violent earthquake rocked 50,000 square miles of south-central Alaska. [14] Property damage was estimated at about $116 million[3] ($0.75 billion in 2019 dollars). It was the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America. commemorates the Alaska Earthquake and examines the advances in knowledge and technology that have helped improve earthquake preparation and response in Alaska and around the world. [24], There were hundreds of aftershocks in the first weeks following the main shock. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, Minor damage to boats occurred as far south as Los Angeles. At the showing of the film, Channel 2 spoke with several survivors with haunting memories of their own from the violent earthquake. The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27. In the first day alone, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0. Through very complete mapping of vertical deformation and faulting and the application of tectonics, he was first to propose in 1965 that the source of the 1964 Alaska earthquake was a low-angle thrust fault. [29] Broadcast journalist, Genie Chance, assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the KENI air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building. 1964 Alaska Earthquake Tsunami. The earthquake took place on a thrust fault where the Pacific plate slips underneath the North American plate. In 50 years, no earthquake since has matched the power of the March 27, 1964, Great Alaska earthquake. Vertical displacements of land of up to … !! [29] The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was formed as a direct response to the disaster. In all, thousands of aftershocks occurred in the months following the quake, and smaller aftershocks continued to strike the region for more than a year. briefly recounts the events of March 27, 1964 and explains the scientific and societal importance of the earthquake. In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Of the 131 people killed during the earthquake, 119 died in tsunamis. The Alaskan earthquake occurred on Good Friday, March 27, 1964, at 5:36 PM local time. The epicenter was about 10 km east of the mouth of College Fiord, approximately 90 km west of Valdez and 120 km east of Anchorage. Narrator: The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake was accompanied 2:13 by massive tsunamis. Coastal Alaska is on a fault zone where the Pacific plate meets the North American plate. Effects of the Earthquake of March 27, 1964, in the Homer Area, Alaska By Roger M. Waller with a section on Beach Changes on Homer Spit, by Kirk W. Stanley Abstract. This tsunami was generated by the 9.2 magnitude earthquake under Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 27, 1964. STORY OF THE 1964 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE AND ITS TRAGIC EFFECTS - THE STORY OF THE POST-DISASTER EFFORT TO REHABILITATE THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE. On Friday, March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m., a magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake shook Alaska for four minutes and 38 seconds. 1964 Great Alaska earthquake was a low-angle thrust fault. 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