Introduction
The magnitude 9.2 Great Alaska
Earthquake that struck south-central Alaska
at 5:36 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 1964, is the
largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history
and the second-largest earthquake recorded
with modern instruments. The earthquake
was felt throughout most of mainland Alaska,
as far west as Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian
Islands some 480 miles away, and at Seattle,
Washington, more than 1,200 miles to the
southeast of the fault rupture, where the Space
Needle swayed perceptibly. The earthquake
caused rivers, lakes, and other waterways
to slosh as far away as the coasts of Texas
and Louisiana. Water-level recorders in
47 states—the entire Nation except for Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island—
registered the earthquake. It was so large that
it caused the entire Earth to ring like a bell:
vibrations that were among the first of their
kind ever recorded by modern instruments.
The Great Alaska Earthquake spawned
thousands of lesser aftershocks and hundreds
of damaging landslides, submarine slumps,
and other ground failures. Alaska’s largest
city, Anchorage, located west of the fault
rupture, sustained heavy property damage.
Tsunamis produced by the earthquake
resulted in deaths and damage as far away
as Oregon and California. Altogether the
earthquake and subsequent tsunamis caused
129 fatalities and an estimated $2.3 billion
in property losses (in 2013 dollars). Most of the population of Alaska and its major
transportation routes, ports, and infrastructure
lie near the eastern segment of the Aleutian
Trench that ruptured in the 1964 earthquake.
Although the Great Alaska Earthquake was
tragic because of the loss of life and property,
it provided a wealth of data about subductionzone
earthquakes and the hazards they pose.
The leap in scientific understanding that
followed the 1964 earthquake has led to
major breakthroughs in earth science research
worldwide over the past half century. This
fact sheet commemorates Great Alaska
Earthquake and examines the advances in
knowledge and technology that have helped to
improve earthquake preparation and response
both in Alaska and around the world.
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First posted March 4, 2014
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