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. 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 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964: EFFECTS ON THE HYDROLOGIC REGIMEN Effects of the March 1964 Alaska Earthquake On the Hydrology Of the Anchorage Area By ROGER M. WALLER A description and analysis of temporary and lasting eflects of the earthquake on surface and ground water in the Anchorage area GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 544-B . Every story you read here was experienced first hand. Trees in Earthquake park had been left in all kids of odd positions following the 9.2 earthquake that struck Alaska on March 27th 1964. Nine more struck over the next three weeks. The neighborhood lost 75 houses in the landslide, and the destroyed area has since been turned into Earthquake Park[16]. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. 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. 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, "Earthquake Park | Things to Do In Anchorage", "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=1021728950, 1964 natural disasters in the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. This animation shows the underlying causes of that subduction-zone mega-thrust earthquake… Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/. HMC-0051. Now ranked a magnitude 9.2, the second-largest … 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. In the early 1960s, the theory of plate tectonics was gaining credence with geoscientists, but it was still not well-known outside scientific circles. "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez. In the first day alone, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0. One house on W. 10th Avenue suffered peripheral damage, but only one block away the recently completed (and still unoccupied) Four Seasons Building on Ninth Avenue collapsed completely, with the concrete elevator shafts sticking up out of the rubble like a seesaw. The hamlets of Girdwood and Portage, located 30 and 40 mi (48 and 64 km) southeast of central Anchorage on the Turnagain Arm, were destroyed by subsidence and subsequent tidal action. The largest tsunami wave was recorded in Shoup Bay, Alaska, with a height of about 220 ft (67 m). liquefied seams and lenses disturbed the sensitive clays, and caused their Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged. Tsunami waves were noted in over 20 countries, including Peru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Mexico, and in the continent of Antarctica. Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history, and the second most powerful earthquake recorded in world history. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately earthquake-engineered houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other man-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along Knik Arm. Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis (up to 220 feet (67 m) in height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. Some Alaska Native villages, including Chenega and Afognak, were destroyed or damaged. The On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 PM, a megathrust earthquake occurred in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska. [23], Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before, and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. The tsunami then reached Tofino, on the exposed west coast of Vancouver Island, and traveled up a fjord to hit Port Alberni twice, washing away 55 homes and damaging 375 others. five deaths hours after the earthquake in Crescent City, California In the 1964 Alaska earthquake, the federally owned Alaska Railroad sustained damage of more than $35 million: 54 percent of the cost for port facilities; 25 percent, roadbed and track; 9 percent, buildings and utilities; 7 percent, bridges and culverts; and 5 percent, landslide removal. Dec 10, 2011 - The powerful earthquake produced earthquake liquefaction in the region. On March 27, 1964 at 5:36pm local time (March 28 at 3:36 UTC) an earthquake of magnitude 9.2 occurred in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska. Two hundred miles (320 km) southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9 m). (Seed 1973). [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. National Research Council (U.S.). The 60-foot (18 m) concrete control tower at Anchorage International Airport was not engineered to withstand earthquake activity and collapsed, killing William George Taylor, the Federal Aviation Agency air traffic controller on duty in the tower cab at the time the earthquake began.[17]. Alaska experiences many earthquakes. Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, is about 80 miles west-northwest of the epicenter of the March 27 earthquake. [32], In the longer term, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110 million. Note the "scalloped" shoreline left by the underwater landslides that … [5] Large rockslides were also caused, resulting in great property damage. Immediate but temporary effects included increased stream discharge, seiche action on lakes, and fluctuations in ground-water levels. For example, during the Alaska earthquake of 1964, the liquefaction of a sandy layer of soft clay beneath Turnagain Heights, a suburb of Anchorage, caused a landslide in the mass of ground above that destroyed approximately 75 homes and disrupted utilities.… [27] The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake. Because of its size, Anchorage bore the brunt of property damage from the quake; it sustained greater losses than all the rest of Alaska combined. [24] Seiches were detected in wells in countries around the world, including England, Namibia, and Australia. In 50 years, no earthquake since has matched the power of the March 27, 1964, Great Alaska earthquake. It was a major factor in the destruction in San Francisco 's Marina District during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake , and in Port of Kobe during the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake . [30] The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Major. Map of southern Alaska showing the epicenter of the 1964 Alaska Earthquake (red star). There was a tectonic tsunami produced in addition to about 20 smaller and local tsunamis. In March 1964, the most powerful earthquake on record in the United States hit Alaska. [2] Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths.[3]. This caused much of the uneven ground which is the result of ground shifted to the opposite elevation. earthquake of magnitude 9.2 struck Prince William Sound and Liquefaction Earth scientists now recognize that the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake resulted from plate convergence: where the Pacific megathrust fault during the 1964 earthquake Plate is being overridden by the North American Plate, it descends, or subducts, into the Earth’s mantle along the Aleutian Trench. Girdwood was relocated inland and Portage was abandoned. [14] Property damage was estimated at about $116 million[3] ($0.75 billion in 2019 dollars). Seward in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, and extensive liquefaction in Niigata, Japan, during the earthquake in 1964, caused geotechnical engineers to become far more aware of, and eventually engaged in understanding, these phenomena.” (I. M. Idriss, 2002) Historical Perspective [29], Second most powerful earthquake in recorded history. When Earthquake Park first opened, it was an amazing site. The 1964 Alaska earthquake (Mw = 9.2) was a landmark event in geotechnical earthquake engineering. Landslide and slumping effects in the Turnagain Heights area, Anchorage, Alaska, caused by the March 28, 1964, earthquake. by Sara E. Pratt . On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, a great earthquake of magnitude 9.2 struck Prince William Sound and caused severe damage in the form of landslides and liquefaction as seen in the pictures (SC). On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, a great 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. The 8.3 to 9.2 magnitude earthquake was so strong that no … Thursday, February 20, 2014. [10] Five died from the tsunami in Oregon,[11] and 12 died from the tsunami in Crescent City, California. Anchorage was not hit by tsunamis, but downtown Anchorage was heavily damaged, and parts of the city built on sandy bluffs overlying "Bootlegger Cove clay" near Cook Inlet, most notably the Turnagain neighborhood, suffered landslide damage. The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake occurred on Good Friday, March 27th. Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2 earthquake remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in North … [7], Two types of tsunamis were produced by this subduction zone earthquake. Although the effects of soil liquefaction have been long understood, engineers took more notice after the 1964 Niigata earthquake and 1964 Alaska earthquake. [4] Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. 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. The earth began to shake like never before. to the right for an explanation of the shown road embankment failure. 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. Liquefaction in and around Anchorage tore the land apart. More earthquake animations: iris.edu/educateThe 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake occurred on Good Friday, March 27th. The earthquake caused the Cold-War era ballistic missile detection radar of Clear Air Force Station to go offline for six minutes, the only unscheduled interruption in its operational history. 5:36pm, Good Friday, March 27th, 1964. Saucier, Heather (April 2014). This seismic event is … Highway in South Central Alaska during the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake Steven F. Bartlett1 Abstract Lateral spread on gently sloping ground is generally the most pervasive and damaging type of liquefaction-induced ground failure generated by earthquakes (NRC, 1985). At 5:36 p.m. on March 27, 1964, pressure overcame friction. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that rebuilt infrastructure would be safe. The focus occurred at a depth of approximately 15.5 mi (25 km). 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. In Alaska, the earthquake caused liquefaction and led to landslides, mainly in the Anchorage area. [23] Effects of the earthquake were even noted as far east as Freeport, Texas, where tide gauges recorded waves similar to seismic surface waves. Damage was caused by direct seismic vibration, by ground cracks, and by landslides. [26][28], The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. "Getting Ready to Rumble", Richard Conniff. These Alaska 1964 earthquake stories were written by actual survivors. [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. USGS Photographic Library . Only 9 people died from the earthquake, but 130 died from the subsequent tsunami; 10 as far away as Crescent City, CA. Displacements 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. Achetez neuf ou d'occasion announcement) and was felt over an area of 500,000 square miles. In addition, liquefaction may also cause landslides. 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. As the earth rumbled and roared, buildings, roads and sidewalks were torn apart. [30] 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. The massive magnitude-9.2 Alaska earthquake changed the world by proving plate tectonics works. John P. Rafferty 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. At magnitude 9.2, it was the second largest quake ever recorded by seismometers. silt seams in the clayey soils beneath Anchorage, caused many of the Click to view a larger image. The waterfront at Seward a few months after the earthquake, looking north. The Anchorage hydrologic system was greatly affected by the seismic shock. caused severe damage in the form of landslides and liquefaction as At the order of the U.S. Defense Department, the Alaska National Guard founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters. Close-up of Government Hill elementary school, which was destroyed by the Government Hill landslide. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths. The fault responsible was the Aleutian Megathrust, a reverse fault caused by a compressional force. 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. [31] She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief. Studies of ground motion have led to a peak ground acceleration estimate of 0.14–0.18 g.[6], The Alaska earthquake was a subduction zone (megathrust) earthquake, caused by an oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. As a part of the Pacific Ring, the southern coast area of Although the effects of liquefaction have been long understood, engineers took more notice after the 1964 Niigata earthquake and 1964 Alaska earthquake. A Retrouvez 1964 Alaska earthquake: Tsunami, Megathrust earthquake, Good Friday, Earthquake, Seismograph, Earthquake liquefaction et des millions de livres en stock sur Amazon.fr. Pacific Plate dove under the North American Plate, curling downward like a conveyor … Run-up of 67 m (220 ft) at Shoup Bay, Alaska. but it lasted for over 3 minutes (radio [25], There were hundreds of aftershocks in the first weeks following the main shock. For example, during the Alaska earthquake of 1964, the liquefaction of a sandy layer of soft clay beneath Turnagain Heights, a suburb of Anchorage, caused a landslide in the mass of ground above that destroyed approximately 75 homes and disrupted utilities. It rocked the state with strong ground shaking for 4.5 minutes. Benchmarks: March 27, 1964: The Good Friday Alaska Earthquake and Tsunamis. Although the effects of liquefaction have been long understood, engineers took more notice after the 1964 Niigata earthquake and 1964 Alaska earthquake. There was no place to hide. [31] 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. While the Minor damage to boats occurred as far south as Los Angeles. Click on the picture This page was last edited on 6 May 2021, at 10:37. [19][20][21], 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. Near Cordova, the Million Dollar Bridge crossing the Copper River also suffered damage, with Span #4 slipping off its pylon and collapsing. [9], Most damage occurred in Anchorage, 75 mi (120 km) northwest of the epicenter. [12][13], The quake was a reported XI on the modified Mercalli Intensity scale "indicating major structural damage, and ground fissures and failures". During the Cold War, many Americans lived in fear of the day their town would be shaken by an atomic bomb blast. [15] It is likely that the toll would have been much higher had the quake not occurred after 5 PM on Good Friday. Committee on the Alaska Earthquake.      Liquefaction in sand layers, Land overlooking the Ship Creek valley near the Alaska Railroad yards also slid, destroying many acres of buildings and city blocks in downtown Anchorage. [29] 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. Trees growing "sideways" , columns of dirt pushed skyward and a jagged landscape left behind by the incredible force of nature known as the Good Friday Earthquake. This seismic event is not only the second largest ever to have been recorded and in sand and Sozen, Mete A. and N. Norby Nielsen, 1973: Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021), Friedel, Megan K. (2010). 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. Alaska experiences many earthquakes. Fires broke out from broken gas lines and explosions at a fuel tank depot after a 30-foot wave struck Seward, Alaska. 1964 Alaska earthquake 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake 2011 Christchurch earthquake 1964 Niigata earthquake Christchurch. tsunami, Prior to March 27, 1964, the concept of plate tectonics was just a theory, though one gaining acceptance. Generally, ground-water levels were residually lowered after the initial period of fluctuation. Anchorage, Alaska. [29] A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering 2,570,000 pounds (1,170,000 kg) of food and other supplies. Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. These smaller tsunamis were produced by submarine and subaerial landslides and were responsible for the majority of the tsunami damage. [18] The damage in British Columbia was estimated at CA$10 million ($84 million in 2020 Canadian dollars or $76 million in 2019 US dollars). destructive landslides that occurred during the earthquake Since the 1964 earthquake, geologists have learned that the speed of earthquake shaking plays an important role in destruction due to liquefaction. On … Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from Florida and Texas. The Government Hill school suffered from the Government Hill landslide, leaving it in two jagged, broken pieces. 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. The towns of Hot Springs Cove, Zeballos, and Amai also saw damage. The 1964 Niigata earthquake struck at 13:01 local time (04:01 UTC) on 16 June with a magnitude of either 7.5 or 7.6.The epicenter was on the continental shelf off the northwest coast of Honshu, Japan in Niigata Prefecture, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of the city of Niigata.The earthquake caused liquefaction over large parts of the city. 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. [26] The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by Dr. Ruth A. M. Schmidt, a geology professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. strengths to drop below the levels needed for stability. 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. Noté /5. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. 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. heavily increased the amount of damage to wharf and waterfront facilities, and caused Ground fissures and failures caused major structural damage in several communities, much damage to property and several landslides. On March 27, 1964, at 6:36 p.m. AKST (3:36 a.m. UTC), a fault between the Pacific and North American plates ruptured near College Fjord in Prince William Sound. Since the quake struck on March 27, 1964, there has … Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. And it seemed as though it would never end. … Only the ground immediately along the highway and that on the north side of the road dropped, prompting geologists to speculate that Girdwood may rest upon an ancient cliff face, now covered by countless thousands of years of sediment and glacial deposits. The earthquake was felt across the South Island and parts of the lower and central North Island. We are the survivors. Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs, producing around 400,000 tonnes of silt. The largest was the M9.2 great Alaska earthquake of March 1964 that ruptured ∼800 km of the eastern segment of the megathrust. seen in the pictures (SC). Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. [22] Other coastal towns in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged. Government Hill Elementary School in Anchorage was destroyed by the Government Hill landslide during the earthquake. The right for an explanation of the March 27, 1964, just a more! Tsunami wave was recorded in Shoup Bay, Alaska Christchurch earthquake 1964 Niigata earthquake Christchurch most other of. Were only moderately damaged needed for stability occurred on Good Friday Alaska earthquake changed the world by proving tectonics. 22 ] other coastal towns in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska a few after! 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