also read eyewitness accounts
The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaska Earthquake, began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing buildings, and tsunamis directly caused about 131 deaths. This Alaskan earthquake is also known as the Good Friday Earthquake because it occurred during that Christian holy day.
Lasting nearly five minutes, it was the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the third most powerful ever measured by seismograph. It had a moment magnitude of 9.2 and registered 8.4 on the Richter scale.
The powerful earthquake produced Earthquake 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). Two hundred miles southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9.1 m).
East of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Portage dropped 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tidemark.
In Prince William Sound, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who then lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Valdez, Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan Communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan.