Good Friday Quake

Good Friday Quake March 27, 1964, 5:36 pm

Good Friday Quake March 27, 1964, 5:36 pm

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The Seward highway in Alaska after the 1964 earthquake / USGSThe Seward highway in Alaska after the 1964 earthquake / USGShttp://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/five-us-earthqu.html

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

• Introduction 3• Plate Tectonics 8• Aftershocks 9• Tsunami 9• Anchorage 16• Firsthand Accounts 25• Sources 32

• Introduction 3• Plate Tectonics 8• Aftershocks 9• Tsunami 9• Anchorage 16• Firsthand Accounts 25• Sources 32

March 27, 1964, 5:36 pm (Good Friday)March 27, 1964, 5:36 pm (Good Friday)

AlaskaAlaska is hit by a is hit by a massive earthquakemassive earthquake8.48.4 on the Richter scale/ on the Richter scale/ 9.29.2 on the Moment Magnitude Scale on the Moment Magnitude Scale

The The strongeststrongest earthquake ever recorded in earthquake ever recorded in North AmericaNorth America

The The 2nd strongest2nd strongest earthquake earthquake everever recorded recorded

The earth shook for about The earth shook for about 55 minutesminutes

It generated a It generated a tsunamitsunami that ravaged towns along the Gulf of that ravaged towns along the Gulf of AlaskaAlaska

$300 million$300 million in in property damage property damage

131131 people people dieddied

The The epicenterepicenter was in was in Northern Northern Prince William SoundPrince William Sound

14 miles below the earth’s crust14 miles below the earth’s crust

75 miles E of Anchorage, 75 miles E of Anchorage,

55 miles W of Valdez55 miles W of Valdez



Isoseismal MapBased on intensity estimates from data.

Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1964_03_28_iso.php

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1964_03_28_iso.php



What Happened? What Happened? Plate TectonicsPlate TectonicsThe southern coast of Alaska is located on a fault line where The southern coast of Alaska is located on a fault line where the Pacific plate subducts, or dives below the North American the Pacific plate subducts, or dives below the North American Plate.Plate.



http://www-tc.pbs.org/harriman/images/log/lectures/crossenvol/subduction_lg.jpg

The Pacific plate moves north-The Pacific plate moves north-northwest relative to North northwest relative to North America at a rate of about America at a rate of about

2.2 inches2.2 inches per year. per year.

Because of Because of frictionfriction, the , the Pacific plate does not easily Pacific plate does not easily slide under North America, slide under North America,

causing causing bucklingbuckling of the of the earth’s crust at the fault line. earth’s crust at the fault line.



The Pacific Plate continues moving and eventually, enough force The Pacific Plate continues moving and eventually, enough force builds to builds to breakbreak frictional contact, frictional contact, causing a major causing a major earthquakeearthquake..

In seconds to minutes the Pacific plate In seconds to minutes the Pacific plate slidesslides below North America. below North America.

http://www.stowe.k12.vt.us/SHS/teachers/kiefer/escience/eqproject/es7/Jordan-Alaska/Web%20Pages/Plate%20Tectonics.htm

The Pacific plate moved The Pacific plate moved

horizontallyhorizontally 9 meters on 9 meters on average under the North average under the North America plate.America plate.

There also was There also was verticalvertical displacement over 525,000 displacement over 525,000

square kilometers.square kilometers.

It ranged from 15 meters of It ranged from 15 meters of

upliftuplift to 2.3 meters of to 2.3 meters of

subsidencesubsidence relative to sea level.relative to sea level.



http://libraryphoto.cr.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/show_picture.cgi?ID=ID.%20Alaska%20Earthquake%20no.%20%2063

Wrecked dwelling in Anchorage. The damage was caused entirely by ground displacement along the fracture.

Photo by W.R. Hansen, 1964. Figure 28, U.S. Geological Survey Professional paper 542-A

Good Friday QuakeGood Friday Quake

AftershocksAftershocksOn the day of the quake, there were On the day of the quake, there were 11 major aftershocks11 major aftershocks with magnitudes of 6.0 or more.with magnitudes of 6.0 or more.

There were There were 9 additional major aftershocks9 additional major aftershocks in the next 3 in the next 3

weeks, and weeks, and thousandsthousands of smaller aftershocks within the following of smaller aftershocks within the following year.year.

The aftershock zone of the 1964 earthquake was about The aftershock zone of the 1964 earthquake was about 250 km250 km wide and extended past Kodiak island.wide and extended past Kodiak island.



This map shows location of the 1964 earthquake: star - epicenter, open circles - aftershocks occurred within 1 month after the mainshock, solid black line - estimated extent of the ruptured fault from the seismic waveform inversion (Christensen and Beck,

PAGEOPH, 1994). Map composed by N. Ratchkovski.

http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/quakes/Alaska_1964_earthquake.html

TsunamiTsunami



http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs150-00/

During the Good Friday Earthquake, as frictional contact was broken During the Good Friday Earthquake, as frictional contact was broken

and the North American plate and the North American plate sprungsprung forward, it forward, it displaceddisplaced the sea the sea floor and water above it, causing a tsunami.floor and water above it, causing a tsunami.

A A tsunamitsunami is a series is a series of large waves.of large waves.

The Good Friday The Good Friday tsunami was the 2nd tsunami was the 2nd

largestlargest tsunami ever tsunami ever recorded.recorded.

It traveled at speeds It traveled at speeds

over over 400 miles400 miles per per hour.hour.

It It killedkilled 122 people, 122 people, 16 were as far away as 16 were as far away as California and Oregon.California and Oregon.

It reached Hawaii and It reached Hawaii and Japan.Japan.



http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/tsu_travel_time_events.shtml

This map was This map was generated using generated using

Tsunami Travel Tsunami Travel TimesTimes software. It software. It calculates travel calculates travel times for a tsunami times for a tsunami at a given at a given earthquake earthquake epicenter. The epicenter. The contour lines contour lines represent one hour represent one hour intervals.intervals.



http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/theb1339.htm

Valdez, AK was destroyed by the Tsunami.

The maximum recorded wave height was 67 meters at Valdez Inlet.



http://www.mewan.net/general/physical//data/a/fullpics/aleq0050.jpg

The tsunami hit The tsunami hit Seward, AKSeward, AK, rupturing oil pipes. Oil Tanks , rupturing oil pipes. Oil Tanks

explodedexploded, gushing , gushing burningburning petroleum across the harbor. petroleum across the harbor.



http://www.smate.wwu.edu/teched/geology/GeoHaz/eq-Alaska64/eq-Alaska64-19.JPG



http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/images/tsunami-alaska-03-1964.jpg

A wave forced a 2 x 6 inch A wave forced a 2 x 6 inch wooden plank through a wooden plank through a heavy duty forklift tire in heavy duty forklift tire in Whittier.Whittier.

Tsunami damage in Tsunami damage in Whittier, AKWhittier, AK



http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/transformations/tsunami/image2_650.jpg

Tsunami damage in Kodiak, AKTsunami damage in Kodiak, AK

LOCATION LOCATION DEATHS DEATHS DAMAGEDAMAGEVALDEZ, AK 32 DISASTROUS TO TOWN, BOATS DAMAGED, $15 MILLION, SECTION OF LAND 4000'X 600' SLID INTO SEA

SHOUP BAY, AK 1 CABIN DESTROYED (HIGHEST RECORDED WAVE)CHENEGA, AK 23 VILLAGE DISTROYEDWHITTIER, AK 12 $10 MILLION DAMAGE, LOCAL TSUNAMISEWARD, AK 12 DISASTROUS TO TOWN, $14 MILLION, SECTION OF A WATERFRONT SLID INTO A BAYKAGUYAK, KODIAK, AK 3 THIRD WAVE DESTROYED A VILLAGEOLD HARBOR, AK 1 VILLAGE NEARLY DESTROYEDKODIAK, AK 8 $31 MILLION DAMAGE, 158 HOUSES DESTROYEDWOMENS BAY, AK 0 $10.3 MILLION DAMAGEAFOGNAK IS., AK 0 DAMAGE TO VILLAGES AND BOATSOUZINKIE, AK 0 7 STRUCTURES DESTROYEDKENAI PENINSULA, AK 0 DAMAGE TO WATERFRONT AND BOATSSELDOVIA, AK 0 MUCH DAMAGE TO BOATSHOMER, AK 0 HOMER SPIT FLOODEDCORDOVA, AK 0 $1.7 MILLION DAMAGEPORT NELLIE JUAN,AK 3 DOCK DESTROYEDKALSIN BAY, AK 6 NonePORT ASHTON, AK 1 LITTLE DAMAGECAPE ST. ELIAS, AK 1PT. NOWELL, AK 1 2 CABINS DESTROYEDSPRUCE CAPE, AK 1 NoneSITKA, AK 0 DOCK COLLAPSEDKLAWOCK, AK 0 PILINGS KNOCKED OUT FROM UNDER 3 HOUSES BY LOGSMEARES PASSAGE, AK 0 BARGE BROKEN IN TWOWHITSHED, AK 1 10 CABINS DESTROYEDBRITISH COLUMBIA, CAN 0 $10 MILLION DAMAGEWASHINGTON COAST 0 BOATS, HOUSES DAMAGED THROUGHOUT COAST, MANY INJUREDNEWPORT, OREGON 4 4 CAMPERS ON BEACH DROWNEDCRESENT CITY, CA 11 $8 MILLION DAMAGEKLAMATH RIVER, CA 1 1 MAN DROWNEDSAN FRANSICO, CA 0 10,000 PEOPLE LINE BEACH TO SEE TSUNAMIMENDOCINO,CA 0 100 BOATS DAMAGEDSAN RAPHEAL, CA 0 $600,000 IN DAMAGE TO HARBOR AND BOATSKAHULI, MAUI, HI 0 $53,000 DAMAGEHILO, HI 0 $15,000 DAMAGEMISHO, EHIME, JAPAN 0 DAMAGE TO PEARL RAFTSANRIKU COAST, JAPAN 0 DAMAGE TO OYSTER AND PEARL HARVEST

Tsunami Deaths and Damage from Good Friday EarthquakeTsunami Deaths and Damage from Good Friday Earthquake

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/64quake.htm

Anchorage, AKAnchorage, AK

As the largest city, Anchorage had a population of As the largest city, Anchorage had a population of 100,000 100,000 peoplepeople..

9 people9 people dieddied in Anchorage due to the earthquake in Anchorage due to the earthquake

This number is very low considering the intensity of the quake. This number is very low considering the intensity of the quake.

Luckily, Luckily, schools were closedschools were closed because of the Good Friday because of the Good Friday

holiday, and it occurred holiday, and it occurred after business hoursafter business hours..

The property damage from the Good Friday Quake totaled more than The property damage from the Good Friday Quake totaled more than

300 million dollars300 million dollars. That would be over . That would be over 2 billion dollars2 billion dollars today.today.

Most of the property damage occurred in Most of the property damage occurred in Anchorage.Anchorage.

During the earthquake, During the earthquake, AnchorageAnchorage experienced liquefaction. experienced liquefaction.

LiquefactionLiquefaction occurs when saturated soil or sand is occurs when saturated soil or sand is shakenshaken, ,

loses strength, then loses strength, then behaves as a liquidbehaves as a liquid..

Numerous Numerous landslideslandslides and and avalanchesavalanches were set off due to the were set off due to the liquefaction.liquefaction.



http://earthsci.org/education/teacher/basicgeol/earthq/liquefaction.gif

The soft clay bluffs at the mouth of The soft clay bluffs at the mouth of Turnagain ArmTurnagain Arm (west Anchorage) (west Anchorage)

dropped as much as dropped as much as 20 feet20 feet



View from Point Woronzof Area todayView from Point Woronzof Area today



In the In the Turnagain HeightsTurnagain Heights area, built on top of the bluffs, area, built on top of the bluffs,

the frozen ground the frozen ground fracturedfractured into chunks, breaking houses apart. into chunks, breaking houses apart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AlaskaQuake-Turnagain.jpg

In In DowntownDowntown Anchorage, Anchorage, 30 blocks30 blocks were destroyed. were destroyed.

4th Avenue near C street



http://geoinfo.amu.edu.pl/wpk/pe/a/harbbook/c_iii/chap03.html



http://libraryphoto.cr.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/show_picture.cgi?ID=ID.%20Alaska%20Earthquake%20%20326&SIZE=medium

Head of L Street landslideHead of L Street landslide Photo by A. Grantz. Anchorage district, Cook Inlet region, Alaska. n.d.

Published as figure 18-A and 18-B in U. S.Geological Survey. Circular 491. 1964.



5 story JC Penny building5 story JC Penny building

Figure 20, U.S. Geological Survey Professional paper 541.

http://libraryphoto.cr.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/show_picture.cgi?ID=ID.%20Alaska%20Earthquake%20no.%20%20%20%2023ct

SchoolsSchools in Anchorage were devastated. in Anchorage were devastated.



http://www.vibrationdata.com/Resources/governmenthill.jpg

Government Hill SchoolGovernment Hill School

In Anchorage, In Anchorage, water, gas, sewer, telephone, electricalwater, gas, sewer, telephone, electrical and and railroad systemsrailroad systems were destroyed. were destroyed.



http://images.suite101.com/571410_com_aeq00071.jpg

Good Friday Quake SurvivorsGood Friday Quake Survivors

Firsthand AccountsFirsthand AccountsGood Friday Quake SurvivorsGood Friday Quake Survivors

Firsthand AccountsFirsthand Accountshttp://www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/alaska.htm

When the Music Stopped Playing (Anchorage)

I was 11-1/2 years old at the time the Great Alaskan Earthquake struck. We lived in the basement unit at 1505 Orca Street in Anchorage. When the quake struck, Father was working, Mother was cooking dinner in the kitchen at the far end of the house, and the baby was in his high chair close to Mother. I was lying barefoot on Mother's bed, singing a popular song with the radio. My brothers were outside playing. As usual, our parakeet, "Pretty Boy," flitted about his cage chattering incessantly. Unlike the older of my younger brothers, who never realized a quake hit, the noise of the earth's rumbling and the crashing of dishes alerted me instantly that something was terribly awry. Seconds after the rumbling and violent shaking began, Mother screamed from the kitchen at one end of our basement unit, "Get Out! Get Outside!" The radio crashed to the floor, our dinner flew off the stove, chairs scooted and fell, books and crafts flew into our flight path. I can only imagine what "Pretty Boy" experienced in his cage suspended from a spring in the kitchen. Spurred by the tone of Mother's voice, I instantly scrambled off the bed and instantly lost my balance as my feet hit the wobbling tile. I tried to stand again, and fell after one or two steps. Mother came rushing through, clutching the baby, her face tight with tension, screaming even more hysterically, "Get Outside! Now! Run! Run!" I scrambled and ran, but as the earth continued to shake violently, I once again fell, landing directly in Mother's path. Mother hurtled over me with the baby in her arms, screaming in a voice raw with fear and despair, "Get Out! Get Out! Get Out!" As I watched her disappear through the front doorway, suddenly a fierce emotion seized me, and I began to crawl furiously on all fours. By the time I reached the front doorway, the earth's shaking had stopped. Mother was outside at the top of the stairwell with my 2 younger brothers, looking towards the dark basement, paralyzed with fear and trepidation, her eyes

searching. I'll never forget the look on her face when I finally appeared. If she could have, she would have flown down the stairwell to me, but since she had two other children to consider and one of them was in arms, she stood at the top of the stairs and called to me. Regaining my footing, I ran up the flight of stairs to her. Within an instant, mother was once again the stern mother hen, clucking orders, and instructing us to climb inside the Rambler and wait for her. We obeyed. As we huddled together, cold and scared in the back of the Rambler, mother ran in search of my brother, Robert, screaming his name throughout the neighborhood as she quickly scoured the streets. Within a few minutes, Mother returned to the 3 of us, empty handed and dejected. Ordering us to stay, she ventured into the basement alone, and returned with our coats, the car keys, and her purse. When she noticed my bare feet, I recall her lecturing me on never going barefooted again and then she fell silent and put the Rambler into gear. As she drove to East Northern Lights Boulevard to fetch our father, dodging asphalt eruptions and asphalt cracks and valleys in the roadway, tears streamed down her face. We remained silent. Gratefully, our basement unit was relatively undamaged and by nightfall, my brother Robert was returned home, unharmed. Our home became a refuge for three other families and a young man. From that point forward, life for the next several days took on a surrealistic feel. Altogether, there were 23 of us in that basement refuge. Fortunately, one of the men, Curtis, worked at Fort Richardson, and through him, we had access to military water in large cardboard boxes containing flexible plastic containers with spouts. We supplemented that water with boiled snow treated with Clorox. It was the children's job to collect snow in pots to melt so we would have water for washing and the toilet. I remember during the next few days that the radio ran day and night-playing only news-there was no time for music. Early every morning for the next couple of weeks, my Father left together with the other men. I remember they would return long after dark, filthy and exhausted. They would sit down and eat

voraciously while the womenfolk doted on them and then, one by one, they would turn into bed, murmuring about the sights they had seen that day. All I knew was that they were volunteering along with other men from the city to help clean up the mess, and to repair broken gas, water, and sewage lines throughout the city. There were five women and it seems they never slept! If you wanted to find one, you could always find them gathered round the wooden picnic table in the kitchen, sleeping babies in their arms, murmuring together. When the women were not in the kitchen, they were caring for the children and men.I was the oldest of all the children, so it was my responsibility to keep the younger ones out of the way of the adults, coordinate the many snow-gathering expeditions, and round up the kids for mealtime. By mid-week, our meals consisted of unremarkable government rations that I believe may have come from the military bases. All the children (there were nine of us not including the two babies) shared a full-sized bed set up in the parlor area. It was comforting to sleep with company, even though we were arranged like so many clothespins, lined up neatly, side by side, our heads at opposite ends of the bed. Most of the children slept well, but I could not for each time I felt a tremor, I would sit up, ready to run again. Eventually, life began to return to normal. We were all shepherded to one of the undamaged schools in the area to receive our typhoid shots. I remember watching my brother, Robert, the older of my younger brothers, stagger over to the glass windows after receiving his typhoid shot and then fainting to the floor. I thought it was rather comical at the time. In fact, I'm still chuckling at this moment, as I recall how his eyes rolled up into his head and he sank to the floor with an unceremonious sigh. Eventually, the schools reopened. I attended Fairview Elementary. Twelve blocks away, the Denali school had been rendered unusable, so we shared our school by attending in shifts. Fairview started the day with the early morning shift and

Denali took the late shift. During those days, classes and playground times were shortened. Long after I had gone home, Denali students were just beginning the school day.Permission to play on the school grounds came only after the Denali students had gone home late in the evening. I remember how much my brothers and I loved to ice skate. After the Good Friday earthquake, we rarely had the opportunity to skate at the school playground. Father's answer to our dilemma was to help us build our own ice rink in the backyard. Although crude, and full of bumps that could send you flying through the air, the rough rink generated many happy memories for the entire neighborhood until the Spring thaw. Interestingly, after the 9.2 earthquake, "Pretty Boy" never flew again, choosing instead to walk about his cage walls and floor or on the floors and tables of our home. If "Pretty Boy" wanted to get down, he jumped, or used drapes for ladders, but he never flew again. Of course, after school started, everyone began trickling back to their own homes. The radio started playing music once again. Although it was nice to have my own bed back again, I missed having everyone nearby. During a disaster, there is something inexplicably comforting about being able to share in the company of another human being. There is yet an even more inexplicable comfort to experience when the music returns.

by Georgiana (Jana) Llaneza

Visiting Anchorage

I was a Flight Attendant with The Flying Tiger Line, and we had just ‘dead headed’ (no passengers) into Anchorage to position for a flight the following day. Having arrived at the hotel shortly before, I had decided on a nap before going into the Red Ram restaurant for dinner. My roommate had asked to use my hair dryer, and I’d told her to help herself. As I was dozing off the shaking started. I thought it was my roommate, and that she was being very inconsiderate in shaking my bed like that. The hair dryer was on a partition that separated our beds, which were what I believe are called ‘day beds’. When the shaking didn’t stop, I sat up and looked around at my roommate, and saw the largest brown eyes I’ve ever seen…even since. Being a California girl I recognized it was an earthquake, however being close to a SAC base another event did enter our minds! I made about 3 attempts to stand up, and was thrown back onto the bed, I finally gave up and I just shuffled the bed back against the wall each time it rolled into the room. I also moved as far away from the large plate glass window as I could get. From this position I watched in amazement. The building was a U shape, and the section across from us was rolling in 2 – 3 foot waves. The window glass was also rolling in waves, but in an opposite direction, the street light in the intersection visible from our room was the type that is suspended in the middle of the intersection (not recognizable in this day), and it was spinning wildly. The amazement was in nothing was breaking! I heard the TV in the room above crash, but ours just teetered back and forth, not falling. When the shaking stopped I immediately went to the door, as I had heard the screams of 2 other members of my crew, and saw them safely huddled against the building. Before leaving the room, I drained all the water in the lines in the bathroom into containers, as I knew there would not be any water for awhile.

The restaurant had been vacated, the bartender handed me a bag of money as he was running out. I insisted he open the safe for me to put it away, and he then ran off to check his home and family. We were the only ones left in the hotel, so we gathered in the restaurant, and decided we might as well see what there was to eat, we did well as food it was in abundance at this point. We also found the beer still cold! We then walked downtown a short distance, and it was only then the full realization of the extent of the damage hit us. The hotel had appeared undamaged (a crack in the lobby fireplace was the only damage). Native hospital was near by, and we went there to see if they needed any volunteers. They asked us to stand by for a time, as they were trying to obtain permission to admit non natives. We waited a while, and were finally told the other hospital was able to handle all the injuries, so we went back to our empty hotel. The after shocks were the unnerving part. Even when I returned to San Francisco it was several days before I trusted myself driving, as the ground was still moving under me, and I had to continually be reassured it wasn’t another earthquake.

Dorothy Armstrong

Fort Richardson Account (army base adjacent to Anchorage.)

Well I remember it like it was yesterday. My dad was stationed at Fort Richardson. My dad, mom and two sisters were all sitting down to a Good Friday dinner a little after 5:00 p.m. Back then my mom would set the table with plates, cups and saucers and I remember hearing the cups start to make a tinkling sound and saw a really curious look on my mom's face when all of a sudden it hit. It was such a furious force not shaking but more of a rolling movement. I looked up to see the kitchen cabinet doors swing open and all the dishes falling out breaking on the floor and then saw our huge china hutch fall over. My dad and I started walking around the house,why I really don't know , we were all in shock. My dad face was white as a ghost and his eyes were bulged out. There was a roaring sound I can still hear. My mother who was 8 1/2 months pregnant with my youngest sister was crying hysterically and curled up in the fetal position in the corner of our living room with my two sister who were also crying. My mom was begging us all to come to her because if we were going to die we would all die together. My mother a devout catholic thought it was the end of the world. That was the most courageous thing I ever witnessed in my entire life. Our priest Father Van Dyke came to our house that night and stayed on his knees until the morning praying the rosary. We were out of power and all I could see was his lips moving by candlelight. In the days that followed the tremors were scarier than the quake. They seemed more violent. We went downtown Anchorage and saw all the wreckage,it was unbelievable. Our babysitters boyfriend was killed when a huge cement block from the J.C. Penny's building crushed him. I loved Alaska and still do. Living in Fort Richardson was so much fun,the military made it a great place for kids. It was by far the best time of my life. I can remember ice skating in the

middle of Ft Rich and sledding and snowman and the forests. I still can recall a day when me and my friends built a huge three ball snowman and watched it disappear during a snowstorm. I also remember getting into trouble when my friends and I all stayed out late playing not knowing what time it was until the M.P.'s came to find us. It was after midnight but still light outside.We stayed another two years and then eventually settled in California! I really laugh when my friends get freaked out with the 3.5's here. I never get scared during an earthquake not after that Alaskan whopper.

Patrick M. Keulen

Kenai Account

March 27th, 1964…, what a day. I was 18 years old, a senior at Kenai High School. My sister Kathy was 16. We got off the school bus and walked the mile and a half of our homestead road to our cabin on Longmere lake. I fixed our dinner and was doing the dishes when the quake hit. I remember the water in the sink stood up sideways, and then fell back down. We didn't have doors on the kitchen cupboards and things started falling out all around me. My sister started to become hysterical so I chased her around the cabin, held on to her, and told her we were going outside. I opened the door. The trees were laying on the ground one minute and upright the next, then back down again Then, the lake started to crack open and the mud from the bottom shot many feet up into the air. It looked like the cracks were headed straight for us, so we huddled there in the doorway until the shaking finally quit. I didn't think it would ever stop, it felt like forever. The main phone lines were out, but we were on a party line, so the neighbors were all picking up their receivers and checking on each other. My boyfriend and his family lived about 2 miles away, and thankfully his dad decided to drive down and check on us. He knew our parents and other siblings were in Anchorage for the day. I must have been in shock because I told him we were fine. He started driving up the hill, then stopped and backed down. He told me my face was white as a ghost, and that we were going home with him. I was so very grateful. They had six children at the time, and lived in a 10x55 mobile home, but made room for us. It was cozy and comforting. We all sat around listening to the battery radio, and waiting for news. It was at least a day before we heard that the rest of our family was OK, and then it took my mom 3 days to get home since the Kenai River bridge, and most of the Portage bridges were out. She told us that right before the earthquake started, she and my sister were on their way to J.C.Penney's to go

shopping, but that she changed her mind and they drove by the store, and on down to 19th Ave. where they were staying with friends. She was sure happy she made that decision. While we were cleaning up all the mess in the cabin, Mom pounded a nail in one of the log beams and hung a wrench up on it so we could watch for the aftershocks. To this day, any earth shake brings back all the vivid details, and the fear.

Susan (Erlwein) Davis

Kodiak Naval Base Account

The following is my recollection of Friday, March 27, 1964. It was 5:30 pm and I had just finished my shower. I was planning a night out on the town since I had turned 20 yrs. old three days earlier. I was sitting in the barracks at the Kodiak Naval Base reading the week old Oklahoma City Times. I barely got through the front page and noticed a little shaking of the paper in my hands. I dismissed it, thinking it was one of the sub hunters revving it's engines at the nearby hangar. Suddenly the closed and latched doors of the lockers in front of me sprang open. Myself and one other seaman yelled simultaneously "it's an EARTHQUAKE". The barracks and showers were full of Seabees and Marines getting ready for the weekend parties. Most were partially or completely naked. It was very hard to remain on your feet as we all headed for the stairs at the same time. We pretty much went down in a pile. I remember standing on the bottom step of the doorway to the barracks and watching lightning on the ground. The ground was alive. All around you and as far as you could see the ground was splitting with cracks from as wide as an inch to hairline cracks. The power poles were all swaying in unison. Water and Gas lines were breaking underground all around. And at the same time you felt like you were standing on a giant vibrator. The one thing I remember most while I was standing there in my shorts was where did all the girls come from. We rarely saw a female on base. And there must have been 8 or 10 screaming girls and women within a few yards of our barracks. Never figured out where they came from. Of course liberty was canceled and we were ordered to muster. The Seabees were in charge of the Motor Pool on base. We provided services to the base in all phases of transportation. As well as snow removal and road repair on the Island. My first assigned task was to transport a squad of armed Marines to the town of Kodiak. The first wave had hit and took out the town. It took about an hour and a half to get there because of

the condition of the roads. Rock slides had blocked many areas and we had to clear the road before proceeding. When we arrived I couldn't believe the destruction. The streets were littered with everything from rifles to cash. Looting was already taking place. The buildings that were on the waterfront were all displaced and in the middle of what used to be the streets. Over the next 24 hours, the tides became increasingly higher and higher. Soon the base power plant was under water and we lost all power to the base. Our entire Company spent the next two weeks working 12 to 15 hour days doing whatever we could to help anyone that needed it. I remember when the C130 arrived from Seattle with the replacement power plant. Word was that it took over two days to get it loaded and secured on the plane and we had it unloaded and operational in about 18 hours. When my tour of duty was finished I was able to spend some time in Anchorage while on the way back to the States. I have since been in another earthquake while visiting California. Two is enough. I 'm glad I live Texas. I am now 63 years old and I plan to drive the Alcan Highway next summer. Sure hope the ground ain't shakin'.

James Boyd Midlothian, Texas

SourcesSourcesSourcesSourcesAnchorage Museum, "The 1964 Earthquake". Anchorage Museum Association. 8 March 2009

<http://www.anchoragemuseum.org/galleries/alaska_gallery/earthquake.aspx>.

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