1964 Alaska earthquake
AKST[a] | |
Duration | 4–5 minutes |
---|---|
Magnitude | 9.2 Mw,[1] |
Depth | 25 kilometers (16 mi) |
Epicenter | 60°54′29″N 147°20′20″W / 60.908°N 147.339°W |
Type | Megathrust |
Areas affected | United States, Canada |
Total damage | $311 million (1964 USD) [$2.94 billion (2022 USD)] |
Max. intensity | MMI XI (Extreme) |
Peak acceleration | ~ 0.18 g [2] |
Tsunami | Major. Run-up of 67 m (220 ft) at Shoup Bay, Alaska. |
Casualties | 131 killed |
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 pm
Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2
In
Geology
On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. AKST (March 28, at 3:36 a.m.
Studies of ground motion have led to a peak ground acceleration estimate of 0.14–0.18 g.[7]
The Alaska earthquake was a subduction zone (megathrust) earthquake, caused by an oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. The fault responsible was the Aleutian Megathrust, a reverse fault caused by a compressional force. This caused much of the uneven ground which is the result of ground shifted to the opposite elevation.[8]
Tsunami
Two types of tsunami were produced by this subduction zone earthquake. There was a tectonic tsunami produced in addition to about 20 smaller and local tsunamis. These smaller tsunamis were produced by submarine and subaerial landslides and were responsible for the majority of the tsunami damage. Tsunami waves were noted in over 20 countries, including Peru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Mexico, and in the continent of Antarctica. The largest tsunami wave was recorded in Shoup Bay, Alaska, with a height of about 220 ft (67 m).[4][10]
Death toll, damage, and casualties
As a result of the earthquake, 131 people are believed to have died:[4] Nine died as a result of the earthquake itself and another 122 died from the subsequent tsunamis all over the world.[11] Five died from the tsunami in Oregon,[12] and 12 died from the tsunami in Crescent City, California.[13][14]
The quake was a reported XI on the
Anchorage area
Most damage occurred in Anchorage, 75 mi (121 km) northwest of the epicenter. Anchorage was not hit by tsunamis, but
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
Elsewhere in Alaska
Most coastal towns in the Prince William Sound,
Canada
A 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wave reached
Elsewhere
Twelve people were killed by the tsunami in or near
Aftershocks
There were hundreds of aftershocks in the first weeks following the main shock. In the first day alone, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0. Nine more struck over the next three weeks. 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.[24]
Recovery efforts
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. 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.[27] 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. 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.[28] The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.[27][29]
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. 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.[30] 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. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. 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.[30] 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.[31] 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.[32] She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief.[32] 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.[33]
In the longer term, the
See also
- 2018 Anchorage earthquake
- 1965 Rat Islands earthquake
- List of megathrust earthquakes
- List of earthquakes in 1964
- List of earthquakes in Alaska
- List of earthquakes in the United States
Notes
- ^ a b At the time of the disaster, Alaska was divided between four separate time zones, Anchorage was five hours behind Eastern Standard Time. See Time in Alaska.
References
Specific
- ^ USGS. "M9.2 - The Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of March 27, 1964". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Alaska Earthquake, The great Alaska earthquake of 1964, Volume 1, Part 1, National Academies, 1968 p. 285
- ^ US Geological Survey report on the earthquake Archived 2009-08-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Tsunami Events Search – sorted by Date, Country, National Geophysical Data Center, archived from the original on 2017-08-25, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ USC, Tsunami Research Group. "1964 Alaskan Tsunami". University of Southern California. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ Historic Earthquakes: Prince William Sound, Alaska Archived 2014-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Alaska Earthquake, The great Alaska earthquake of 1964, Volume 1, Part 1 Archived 2020-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, National Academies, 1968 p. 285
- ^ The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 and Its Legacy Archived 2018-12-01 at the Wayback Machine 27 March 2014
- ^ "Geoware Tsunami Products". www.geoware-online.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ^ "Getting Ready to Rumble", Richard Conniff, The Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2017.
- ^ The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed 2009-06-23. Archived 2009-06-25.
- ^ "Tsunami generated by Good Friday quake devastated Oregon Coast 50 years ago Thursday". OregonLive.com. 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
- ^ "The day in 1964 when a tsunami ravaged Crescent City". sfgate.com. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- ^ "Remembering the Deadly 75-Foot Tidal Wave that Leveled Crescent City in 1964". activenorcal.com. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- ^ ushistory.com: Great Alaskan Quake of 1964 Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine – Retrieved 2014-06-10
- Gross Domestic Product deflatorfigures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ "Earthquake Park | Things to Do In Anchorage". ALASKA.ORG. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ISBN 0-309-01606-1.
- ^ "Tsunami runups in Canada in 1964". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
- ^ 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "A brief history of the Canadian dollar". Archived from the original on 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
- ^ Oregon's pioneer spirit. Statesman Journal, December 26, 1999.
- ^ a b "USGS Release: 40th Anniversary of "Good Friday" Earthquake Offers New Opportunities for Public and Building Safety Partnerships (3/26/2004)". Archived from the original on 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
- ^ "Tsunami runups in Freeport". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
- ^ Fountain, Henry (2017). The Great Quake: How the biggest earthquake in North America changed our understanding of the planet. New York: Crown. p. 145.
- ^ a b Friedel, Megan K. (2010). Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. HMC-0051. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ Archived 2019-03-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Ruth Anne Marie Schmidt Ph.D." Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ Saucier, Heather (April 2014). "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- ^ a b c Cloe, John Haile "Helping Hand" Military response to Good Friday earthquake Archived 2016-10-27 at the Wayback Machine Alaska Historical Society, 3/4/2014
- ^ a b Galvin, John Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska, March 1964 Archived 2016-10-27 at the Wayback Machine Popular Mechanics, 6/29/2007
- ^ a b "When a Quake Shook Alaska, a Radio Reporter Led the Public Through the Devastating Crisis". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
- ^ Barbaro, Michael (May 22, 2020). "Genie Chance and the Great Alaska Earthquake". The New York Times.
General
- National Research Council, Committee On The Alaska Earthquake (1971–73). The Great Alaska Earthquake Of 1964. Washington: National Academy of Sciences.
- Geology, Seismology and Geodesy, Hydrology, Biology, Oceanography And Coastal Engineering, Engineering, Human Ecology, Summary and Recommendation
External links
- The Face of Disaster: The Great Alaska Earthquake – US Office of Civil Defense
- 1964 Good Friday Great Alaskan Earthquake – University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences
- 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake – United States Geological Survey
- The Effects of the March 28, 1964 Alaska Tsunami in British Columbia, Canada – George Pararas-Carayannis
- The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 – Alaska Earthquake Information Center
- The short film ALASKAN EARTHQUAKE (1966) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- Anchorage, AK Good Friday Earthquake, Mar 1964 Archived 2014-03-23 at the Wayback Machine – GenDisasters.com
- Tsunami Anniversary Archived 2014-10-27 at the Wayback Machine – Oregon Field Guide
- Fifty Years Since the Great Alaska Earthquake: The Role of First Responders in Catastrophic Disaster Planning – 113th United States Congress
- Tsunami Forecast Model Animation: Alaska 1964 – Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
- The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.