The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Good Friday Earthquake, began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing buildings, and tsunamis and the resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 casualties. Lasting nearly four minutes, it was the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history and the second most powerful ever measured by seismograph. It had a magnitude of 9.2, at the time making it the second largest earthquake in recorded history, and the powerful earthquake produced liquefaction in the region. Ground fissures and failures caused major structural damage in several communities, much damage to property and several landslides. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately 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. Two hundred miles southwest, some areas near were permanently raised by 30 feet (9.1 m). 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. In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 30 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property as far as British Columbia, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was reported from all over the planet.
AEIC.(2002) The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Retrieved March 26 from http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/quakes/Alaska_1964_earthquake.html
Sokolowski, Thomas.(1991) The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunami of 1964. Retrieved March 26 from http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/64quake.htm
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