Alaskan Earthquake of 1964

Occurring in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska, this earthquake became the second largest earthquake ever recorded in the word. Shaking on March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m., this earthquake had a magnitude of 9.2. The rupture last for approximately 4 minutes rupturing about 120 km east of Anchorage which sustained the most severe property loss and damage. (Christensen, 2002)The earthquake and the following tsunami took 128 lives and caused about $311 million in property loss and damage. Affected towns and cities include: Chitina, Glennallen, Homer and Hope. Many department stores and commercial buildings collapsed and suffered severe damage. Even some schools were affected by this quake. ( Stover, & Coffman, 1993).


Most of the damage and loss of lives were due to the effects of water waves. The waves were of two kinds: the tsunami, generated by large-scale motion of the sea floor; and the local wave, generated by underwater landslides in bays. The biggest wave height of the tsunami recorded was 67 meters at the Valdez Inlet. Not only did the shock of the tsunami devastate many surrounding towns but the landslides caused a significant amount of damage as well. The largest landslide had occurred at Turnagain Heights where buildings collapsed and the land was tilted in every which way. This slide destroyed around 75 houses with water main pipes, gas pipes, sewer, telephone, and electrical systems all shutting down in areas close enough to the slide. ( Stover, & Coffman, 1993).


The earthquake put into affect a 24 hour monitoring for each day of the year by staff at the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. The goal of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center is to provide tsunami warnings for Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in Canada. They also provide immediate earthquake information to the general public, media and National and International agencies so they can prepare their emergency management and rescue groups for the coming disasters. ( Sokolowski ).The aftershock zone of this earthquake was about 250 km wide and extended about 800 km from Prince William Sound to the southwestern end of Kodiak Island. Thousands of aftershocks were recorded in the months following the main shock. Smaller aftershocks continued for more than a year all over the west coast area. 

Christensen, D. (2002). Great alaskan earthquake of 1964. Informally published manuscript, Geophysical, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska. Retrieved from http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/quakes/Alaska_1964_earthquake.html

Stover, C.W, & Coffman, J.L. U.S Department of the Interior, U.S Geological Survey. (1993). Historic earthquakes Washington: U.S Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1964_03_28.php 

Sokolowski, T.J. U.S Department of Commerce , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). The great alaskan earthquake and tsunami of 1964 Retrieved from http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/64quake.htm