March 27, 1964 was Good Friday. As the inhabitants of Anchorage, Alaska’s most populous city (around 45,000 at that time) were winding down the work week late that afternoon and getting ready to head into the Easter weekend, the ground suddenly began shaking violently. In a terrifying upheaval that lasted almost 5 minutes, the earth rolled up and down like a stormy sea, splitting apart and opening huge fissures, and collapsing many buildings.
The landslides, fissures, and building collapses caused about 9 deaths in Alaska, but the tsunamis that were spawned all across the Pacific rim were responsible for an estimated 122 additional deaths the world over. Total property damage resulting from the quake is estimated at $116 million (roughly $750 million in 2021 dollars). More subtle effects in the form of tidal disruptions and measurable changes in groundwater levels were noted all over the world – from Texas, to England, Australia, and even southern Africa!
The 9.2 magnitude earthquake still ranks as the most powerful one in recorded history for the North American continent and the second most powerful for the world overall. With an epicenter located about 78 miles east of Anchorage and 15.5 miles below the earth’s surface, it is estimated that the 600-mile long fault along the Pacific and North American tectonic plates released about 500 years worth of pent up stress all at once.
Some of the developed areas in and around Anchorage were so heavily damaged that they were razed and completely rebuilt or permanently converted into park land.
A subdivision (or what is left of it), on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, following the earthquake of March 27, 1964. Public Domain