Remembering the Great Alaska Earthquake of exactly 50 years ago

northcoin

Ours is a hobby that performs a unique function in reminding of historical events through the dates on our coins. Feel free to post a coin from 1964.

As I have followed the tragedy of the landslide that has taken so many lives this past week in "neighboring" Washington State, it has more than rekindled memories of the Great Alaska Earthquake that took place exactly 50 years ago this Thursday, March 27h, 1964. The earthquake struck on Good Friday and that was back when it was still politically correct to observe a religious holiday so schools were closed. That itself was a Godsend as many of our schools were severely damaged and one grade school split in half. While loss of life in Anchorage was limited compared to the coastal towns that were subsequently hit by Tsunamis the encounter had its impact upon all Alaskans.

Below are copies of some photos I was able to take as a consequence of being allowed to go past the barricades and barriers in the course of myself as one of the Explorer Scouts who were enlisted to help the Civil Defense deliver telegrams. At the time I was a sophomore in high school. However, first I will preface this commentary by quoting some excerpts of a letter I wrote by candlelight to my older brother who was away in Europe - writing during the evening of the earthquake and into the next morning as the aftershocks continued one after another:

"We are all safe at this time. The earthquake hit about an hour ago. …. I was home alone with Marlene [my baby sister] and I was in the kitchen [doing homework] when it started. I thought it would be best to go [get her from her crib] in case the quake did not stop. …. the walls creaked and the floor swayed ….. As I carried the baby out I noticed first that the hutch cabinet had tipped then I saw my science fair project on the floor …. I had only one objective - to get away from under the shaking roof. I just knew it was going to fall. ….. It is strange what one thinks in a situation like this. One thought that came to mind was that human life is more important than anything in a house and I had the strange impression flashed to me that "You return to a burning house only to save a life." It was probably five minutes before the quake had calmed [and we could go back inside.]

"Everything is a mess. [a cupboard full of china had opened and fallen and broken over where I had been sitting when the quake started] The snowman in the backyard which the kids made only a few hours ago fell down and a board over a wood shed in the back yard slipped down. ….. I had never felt a more powerful force in my life. I can't say that I felt fear when the earthquake was on - there wasn't time for that. ….. I had wild ideas about the earth cracking open and it sure felt like it was cracking open. [As I braced myself against the walls trying to get through the tiled cement floored hallway the floor raised and rolled at 45 degree angles. Years later we learned the foundation of the house had cracked.] And of course I did not know how the rest of the family was faring. There is a slight tremor right now. Since the main quake there have been several tremors. It is now 8:10 P.M. … we don't have any electricity … There is only one radio station going. KFQD. Just another tremor now. Time 8:15. The water does not work and this is a major concern …..I don't suppose many people are sleeping tonight. … The whole situation is too difficult to grasp so we attack the minute situation. For example, well I guess that is the way it must be since any large task must begin with small efforts. Curiosity is the prime emotion at this time. Who was hurt, how were they hurt, what was the damage, what does the town look like, what will happen? …. We have a few candles for light … It is 9:53 now and i detect a very very slight vibration.

"It is 10:30 [A.M.] and a tremor is going on right at this moment. It has not stopped. Still it goes. … the man on the radio described it pretty good. He said, "There it goes, you feel so helpless and small." … The man at radio station threatened to leave if another starts. His station is on an upper floor of the 4th Avenue Theater. 3 dead and 26 injured in Anchorage is the first casualty list here locally I just heard."



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TwoSides2aCoin

<< <i>Ours is a hobby that performs a unique function in reminding of historical events through the dates on our coins. Feel free to post a coin from 1964.

As I have followed the tragedy of the landslide that has taken so many lives this past week in "neighboring" Washington State, it has more than rekindled memories of the Great Alaska Earthquake that took place exactly 50 years ago this Thursday, March 27h, 1964. The earthquake struck on Good Friday and that was back when it was still politically correct to observe a religious holiday so schools were closed. That itself was a Godsend as many of our schools were severely damaged and one grade school split in half. While loss of life in Anchorage was limited compared to the coastal towns that were subsequently hit by Tsunamis the encounter had its impact upon all Alaskans.

Below are copies of some photos I was able to take as a consequence of being allowed to go past the barricades and barriers in the course of myself as one of the Explorer Scouts who were enlisted to help the Civil Defense deliver telegrams. At the time I was a sophomore in high school. However, first I will preface this commentary by quoting some excerpts of a letter I wrote by candlelight to my older brother who was away in Europe - writing during the evening of the earthquake and into the next morning as the aftershocks continued one after another:

"We are all safe at this time. The earthquake hit about an hour ago. …. I was home alone with Marlene [my baby sister] and I was in the kitchen [doing homework] when it started. I thought it would be best to go [get her from her crib] in case the quake did not stop. …. the walls creaked and the floor swayed ….. As I carried the baby out I noticed first that the hutch cabinet had tipped then I saw my science fair project on the floor …. I had only one objective - to get away from under the shaking roof. I just knew it was going to fall. ….. It is strange what one thinks in a situation like this. One thought that came to mind was that human life is more important than anything in a house and I had the strange impression flashed to me that "You return to a burning house only to save a life." It was probably five minutes before the quake had calmed [and we could go back inside.]

"Everything is a mess. [a cupboard full of china had opened and fallen and broken over where I had been sitting when the quake started] The snowman in the backyard which the kids made only a few hours ago fell down and a board over a wood shed in the back yard slipped down. ….. I had never felt a more powerful force in my life. I can't say that I felt fear when the earthquake was on - there wasn't time for that. ….. I had wild ideas about the earth cracking open and it sure felt like it was cracking open. [As I braced myself against the walls trying to get through the tiled cement floored hallway the floor raised and rolled at 45 degree angles. Years later we learned the foundation of the house had cracked.] And of course I did not know how the rest of the family was faring. There is a slight tremor right now. Since the main quake there have been several tremors. It is now 8:10 P.M. … we don't have any electricity … There is only one radio station going. KFQD. Just another tremor now. Time 8:15. The water does not work and this is a major concern …..I don't suppose many people are sleeping tonight. … The whole situation is too difficult to grasp so we attack the minute situation. For example, well I guess that is the way it must be since any large task must begin with small efforts. Curiosity is the prime emotion at this time. Who was hurt, how were they hurt, what was the damage, what does the town look like, what will happen? …. We have a few candles for light … It is 9:53 now and i detect a very very slight vibration.

"It is 10:30 [A.M.] and a tremor is going on right at this moment. It has not stopped. Still it goes. … the man on the radio described it pretty good. He said, "There it goes, you feel so helpless and small." … The man at radio station threatened to leave if another starts. His station is on an upper floor of the 4th Avenue Theater. 3 dead and 26 injured in Anchorage is the first casualty list here locally I just heard."




















>>


I took liberty to change the layout , so I could see this easier. Thanks. It's an amazing look back. (and forth)

DoubleEagle59

Very informative.

Having gone to University and graduating as a Geological Engineer, I know and respect the power of Mother Nature.

I was born in 1959 and as I was too young to remember the quake in the news, I do recall an old National Geographic my older brother had, that devoted quite a large section to the earthquake and had very similar pictures of the houses such as yours.

oilstates2003

Learned a lot about it the last week . Local news has been covering it all week in Anchorage news.

Oilstates2003

northcoin

TwoSides2aCoin - Much thanks for correcting the layout. Went back and tried to edit but your efforts were much more successful!

SaorAlba

Fascinating, well before my time. Unfortunately it was a good thing such a large quake struck Alaska instead of California - can you imagine the calamity that would have resulted there? I do remember the first quake I felt - I was about 8 years old and everything started moving and there was a low roar - had no idea what was happening. Had never heard of earthquakes before.

Thanks for posting all the pics.

ricko

Amazing. Having lived in California and Seattle, I have experienced many earthquakes... they are never unimpressive. The 2001 Nisqually earthquake (6.8) was particularly memorable. There is no place to hide.....Cheers, RickO

jom

<< <i>Amazing. Having lived in California and Seattle, I have experienced many earthquakes... they are never unimpressive. The 2001 Nisqually earthquake (6.8) was particularly memorable. There is no place to hide.....Cheers, RickO >>



I've lived in CA all my life and I'm pretty sure never felt anything like that one on Alaska. I mean, the thing supposedly lasted 5 min. FIVE MINUTES! I've been through quite a number of quakes and I'm pretty sure I've never been in one more than 50 sec. at most. Northridge, Newhall, Landers etc etc. Not even close.

You wanna get scared take a look at that video of the Alaska quake at the docks...one minute it's there...the next minute...GONE. Too weird.

jom

3stars

I was in Fairbanks when the 7.9 hit the Denali area in 2003. Over 150 miles away and the car swayed like it was being rocked by rioters.

hammer1

I remember both the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Both were roughly same magnitude. The 1971 seemed scarier, maybe because it was the first major earthquake I experienced. Speaking of no water. They say after the major tremblor stops, fill up your bathtubs.

ricko

<< <i>They say after the major tremblor stops, fill up your bathtubs. >>



That is, if the water is still working..... Cheers, RickO

magikbilly

Thank you. I recall reading about this and seeing that footage. Wonderful story and thanks for taking time to write about it. The rest of th photos are up too! Excellent images. The Atomic geek in me loves seeing the Civil Defense signage. Does anyone recall the Tsunami of 1929 (other side) which went as far south as Long Island?

Eric

EagleEye

Thanks for posting about your experience. This is an amazing post.

northcoin

<< <i>Thanks for posting about your experience. This is an amazing post. >>




Thanks. I just learned after creating this thread that one of the photos included in it made it onto the front page of a regional newspaper doing a story this week on the Great Alaska Earthquake of March 27, 1964:



Here are a few added photos from a presentation I recently made that did not get included in the original posts. Included is the elementary school which split in two as I made reference to it in my initial post

northcoin

<< <i>Learned a lot about it the last week . Local news has been covering it all week in Anchorage news.

Oilstates2003 >>



As noted in a post above, one of the local news outlets included a photo from the original post though they obviously did not include the other one taken at the same time reflecting my acting debut hanging onto the edge of the same crevice.











Reflecting back on it my acting debut in the included photo of me hanging onto the edge of the crevice must have been the inspiration for my acting career decades later as an extra on Hawaii Five-0. lol











Hawaii Five-0 Video clip including my stepping off the bus scene

nwcoast

<< <i>I remember both the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Both were roughly same magnitude. The 1971 seemed scarier, maybe because it was the first major earthquake I experienced. Speaking of no water. They say after the major tremblor stops, fill up your bathtubs. >>



I too was in Los Angeles for both of those and Seattle for the Nisqually quake.
Most frightening to me is the uncertainty of not knowing how long it's going to last or how severe it's going to get...
Very humbling experiences!

Thank you for sharing these.

northcoin

<< <i>

<< <i>I remember both the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Both were roughly same magnitude. The 1971 seemed scarier, maybe because it was the first major earthquake I experienced. Speaking of no water. They say after the major tremblor stops, fill up your bathtubs. >>



I too was in Los Angeles for both of those and Seattle for the Nisqually quake.
Most frightening to me is the uncertainty of not knowing how long it's going to last or how severe it's going to get...
Very humbling experiences!

Thank you for sharing these. >>



Thanks.

Just one question: why was the "snowman" picture labeled April 27, just a mistake?
Good catch. I must have still been "all shook up" when I put those labels on my photos the next month when it had finally turned April. As you surmised, the dates should have said March 27th on both of the backyard snow photos.

An interesting added factoid, on March 26th, the evening before the earthquake, a group of us scouts were out fund raising for the upcoming Boy Scout Jamboree by selling Chicago sourced Polk business Directories to local businesses. We had been parked right there on the block where the J.C. Penney building collapsed in the quake the following day. Due to

its construction the exterior slabs of cement facing slid off and crushed several cars that were in that vicinity taking the lives of the vehicle occupants. Below the below photo of the J.C. Penney building are two photos evidencing, that despite the earthquake, we were able to get a contingent of Alaska Boy Scouts and Explorers to attend the National

Boy Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania later that same year - as evident by my serving on KP duty there. (Yes, that is LBJ addressing us in the final photo.)

yosclimber

I remember seeing the photos in National Geographic - pretty crazy looking offsets in the roads.

9.2, 5 minutes of shaking - it's the second largest ever measured.
The largest was in Chile 1960, 9.5.
Most of the others don't even come close.
The 1906 San Francisco was a wimpy 7.8.
More recently, we had the 2004 Indian Ocean at 9.1 and 2011 Tohoku at 9.0 which were close in magnitude to the 1964.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes#Largest_earthquakes_by_magnitude

Even prior to 1900, there were maybe only 4 9s in recorded history.

WingedLiberty1957

Wabbit2313

This is very interesting. How deep was that crack everyone was looking into?

thebeav

Unimaginable !!

I remember that quake, even though I was only nine......I couldn't possibly comprehend what it was.
Amazing photos.

Sonorandesertrat

I remember being impressed by the evidence of earthquake/tsunami damage to areas of southern Alaska (especially Valdez) when going on a cruise about 15 years ago.

northcoin

<< <i>This is very interesting. How deep was that crack everyone was looking into? >>



It varied, but had closed to about five feet deep. (I am actually crouching in the photo where you see my hands clinging to the edge.) Unfortunately several children in the residential area depicted by the twisted and bent houses in my photos above got swallowed up in a crack while it was fully opened and to my knowledge their bodies were never

recovered.

drwstr123

I experienced only three minor quakes.
I remember the news pics of the harbor and ships from the Alaska Quake. It was, and is unimaginable.
Yes, it is humbling. Provides a different perspective.
I recall having several of the original issue Statehood so-called dollars.

DoubleEagle59

Here's how it looks today.........

(compare the house directly behind the first light pole in the old picture. It's the one in the background of the new picture.

Ninth Ave between L and M Street

northcoin

<< <i>





Here's how it looks today.........

(compare the house directly behind the first light pole in the old picture. It's the one in the background of the new picture.

Ninth Ave between L and M Street >>



That is pretty cool. Life goes on. (Of course there was no "Google Earth" back in 1964.)

Just came back from a commemoration event where the Mayor Dan Sullivan, Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell (running for U.S. Senate) were present and spoke along with several "Earthquake Survivors." Was followed by a lecture on how the science of Plate Tectonics was "proven" and established by the occurrences of the Great Alaska Earthquake 50 years

ago.

Here are some photos from today's commemorative event at the Anchorage Museum:

northcoin

Had to go to the court in Palmer, Alaska yesterday so took the opportunity to stop by the National Tsunami Warning Center there after the court proceedings. Learned some interesting earthquake related facts especially related to the warning system in place today that relies upon the historical data that is collected each time major earthquakes occur. The

earthquake generated tsunami waves travel across the ocean at about the same speed as a jetliner and the warning center can get information out within five minutes which means that depending on the distance several hours advance warning is possible.


The United States has two National Tsunami Warning Centers, the other being in Hawaii, which monitor data that is being collected by pressure sensors around the world which are sending information from underwater devices to surface buoys which then transmit to the centers via satellites. There are two scientists on duty at the Alaska Center at all times.



(By the way, prompted by an inquiry in a post above, I asked the official at the warning center how deep the cracks open during the earthquakes before they close back up and was given the depth of 50 feet. During the 64 Alaska quake in the Turnagain area of Anchorage, where you see the twisted houses in my above photos, two children were swallowed

up in one of the cracks that opened.)

northcoin

<< <i>I remember being impressed by the evidence of earthquake/tsunami damage to areas of southern Alaska (especially Valdez) when going on a cruise about 15 years ago. >>



This is a current day view in a photo I took looking down on Girdwood and Cook Inlet from the slopes of Alyeska Ski Resort. Interestingly, a study was done in the early 1990s in which a submerged forest was identified in this area (Girdwood) evidencing that this area of Alaska subsided in another major earthquake approximately 700 years ago. Basically

the pressures associated with one tectonic plate submarining under another take about 500-800 years to build up to the point where they "snap" and result in a magnitude 9.0 or greater earthquake with this being an historical pattern that core samples evidence having repeating itself for at least the past 3,000 years. Just after the 1964 Great Alaska

Earthquake the conventional wisdom was that we could expect another of similar magnitude in 50 years. The more recent science, as referenced above, suggests it is more likely that it will be another 500 years. Below is an excerpt from the study that found the submerged Girdwood forest.





The valley where the Alyeska resort is today is Girdwood. The railroad tracks in that area were twisted and torn in the March 27, 1964 Earthquake. There was also significant subsidence of the land mass not only in Girdwood, but also a few miles further down the Seward Highway at Portage. Even today you can see remnants of buildings in Portage

that are partially sunk into the ground from where the land mass lowered and the tides now come in to partially cover them.

Interestingly though with regard to Girdwood, a study was done in 1992 concluding that a buried forest there is evidence of even greater subsidence that occurred from a previous earthquake hundreds of years ago. Here is an excerpt from the study titled, "The Penultimate Great Earthquake in Southcoastal Alaska: Evidence from buried forest near

Girdwood" by Rodney Combellick of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey:


Given the limitations of instrument and
historic records to resolve the recurrence times
of great earthquakes, only geologic investiga-
tion can disclose the long-term record of sud-
den tectonic changes and earthquake effects.
Recent geologic studies indicate that recurrence
intervals for great earthquakes in this region
range from about 400 to 1,300 yr (Plafker and
others, in press). My purpose in this paper is
to present evidence from a coastal marsh near
Girdwood that the penultimate, or second to
last, great earthquake in the Anchorage region
occurred between about 700 and 900 yr ago.

darktone

I enjoyed reading this.

northcoin

<< <i>I enjoyed reading this. >>



Thanks.

(By the way, I asked the official at the warning center how deep the cracks open during the earthquakes before they close back up and was given the depth of 50 feet. During the 64 Alaska quake in the Turnagain area of Anchorage, where you see the twisted houses in my above photos, two children were swallowed up in one of the cracks that opened.)


Below is a link to a story by a local reporter who has pieced together the tragedy of the two lost children ages 12 and 2 whose bodies remain buried and were never found.

One of the witnesses interviewed, their neighbor Tay Thomas, was the wife of Lowell Thomas, Jr. who followed in the footsteps of his father Lowell Thomas the world famous broadcaster. The Thomas family here in Alaska were active supporters of many worthy causes over the years and I knew Lowell Thomas, Jr. for his involvement with the scouting program as well as his having accepted an invitation from me to come speak at our high school's honor society induction. I suspect their life altering experiences in the earthquake had something to do with the extent of their devotion to service and helping others.

Below, I am standing on the edge of the collapsed land that once supported the houses described in the reporting. The described houses in the linked article were demolished similar to those I photographed in the same area as posted below.








The Lost Children

yosclimber

There was also an interesting 7.9 - 8.3 quake in 1958 near Mt. Fairweather, which caused a huge rockslide and glacier movement
that made a 1720' tall megatsunami in Lituya Bay. The height was measured from the trees which were knocked down on the sides of the bay.
"Big fish in a small poind"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Lituya_Bay_megatsunami

northcoin

<< <i>Had to go to the court in Palmer, Alaska yesterday so took the opportunity to stop by the National Tsunami Warning Center there after the court proceedings. Learned some interesting earthquake related facts especially related to the warning system in place today that relies upon the historical data that is collected each time major earthquakes occur. The

earthquake generated tsunami waves travel across the ocean at about the same speed as a jetliner and the warning center can get information out within five minutes which means that depending on the distance several hours advance warning is possible.


The United States has two National Tsunami Warning Centers, the other being in Hawaii, which monitor data that is being collected by pressure sensors around the world which are sending information from underwater devices to surface buoys which then transmit to the centers via satellites. There are two scientists on duty at the Alaska Center at all times.



(By the way, prompted by an inquiry in a post above, I asked the official at the warning center how deep the cracks open during the earthquakes before they close back up and was given the depth of 50 feet. During the 64 Alaska quake in the Turnagain area of Anchorage, where you see the twisted houses in my above photos, two children were swallowed

up in one of the cracks that opened.)


>>





TODAY'S 8.2 EARTHQUAKE IN CHILE OF SAME ORIGIN AS ALASKA'S 1964 EARTHQUAKE, BOTH BEING MEGATHRUST EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY MOVEMENT OF ONE TECTONIC PLATE THRUSTING ITSELF UNDER ANOTHER

Per NBC.NEWS Alan Boyle's news brief excerpted below, the earthquake that just occurred in Chile a few hours ago was of similar origin as Alaska's 1964 Quake, both being caused by pressure building up from the edge of one Tectonic Plate submarining under another over a significant period of time. (Also note the National Tsunami Warning Center pictured above, along with its sister facility in Ewa, Honolulu, Hawaii are currently issuing the Tsunami projections and warnings that we are presently seeing being disseminated throughout the Pacific.):



"The seismic fault that gave way off the coast of Chile on Tuesday has long been overdue for a big earthquake, experts say. But they can't yet say whether this magnitude-8.2 shock is the "Big One" they've been expecting.
"We're hoping for the sake of the people of northern Chile that this is the Big One, but at the same time we know that even an 8.2 earthquake has not released all the stored energy in that area," Rick Allmendinger, a geologist at Cornell University who specializes in earthquake analysis, told NBC News.

Allmendinger is familiar with Chile's Big Ones, in part because he's a visiting professor at a university in Antofa_asta, one of the cities affected by the quake. The last time a major quake hit the area was back in 1877, when an 8.5 tremor triggered 75-foot-high tsunami waves.
Tuesday's quake originated offshore in the Nazca-South American subduction zone ? a region where one tectonic plate dives beneath another, giving rise to megathrust earthquakes. "There's about 320 miles of coastline that has not had a big earthquake since 1877," Allmendinger said. "

northcoin

<< <i>There was also an interesting 7.9 - 8.3 quake in 1958 near Mt. Fairweather, which caused a huge rockslide and glacier movement
that made a 1720' tall megatsunami in Lituya Bay. The height was measured from the trees which were knocked down on the sides of the bay.
"Big fish in a small poind"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Lituya_Bay_megatsunami >>





When I was at the National Tsunami Warning Center on Friday the event you mention was discussed. That wave is the tallest known to have been created by a Tsunami. It was also mentioned that there were three boats in Lituya Bay and the wave lifted one of the boats right over what had been dry land depositing it out into the open ocean. Two

men were aboard. The other two boats disappeared.

LotsoLuck

Great thread, great pictures and information. Several years ago my mom sent me a VHS dealing with earthquakes, there was a short clip of a man in Valdez video taping his dog on shore from the boat slip, in the blink of a eye all of the water disappeared, I don't believe I have ever seen something as haunting as that.

northcoin

<< <i>Great thread, great pictures and information. Several years ago my mom sent me a VHS dealing with earthquakes, there was a short clip of a man in Valdez video taping his dog on shore from the boat slip, in the blink of a eye all of the water disappeared, I don't believe I have ever seen something as haunting as that. >>



LotsoLuck - if you want to relive that VHS, here is a Youtube link of it. As you watch note that the calving ice off the glaciers has nothing to do with the earthquake and was added for dramatic effect. There is also a huge surfing wave that has been inserted close to the end that is unrelated. The film in the Valdez Bay itself, is however authentic and is

of both historic and scientific importance. Per the official I spoke with at the National Tsunami Warning Center Friday, this is the only visual recording that actually shows the land mass subsiding in conjunction with an earthquake. In the film you hear the narrator describe the boat dropping down to where "only its mast is visible."

Valdez Harbor during 64 Alaska Earthquake as filmed by crewman aboard the Chena

LotsoLuck

Thanks Northcoin, that is the one I mentioned with additional footage I haven't (or don't remember) seeing.

northcoin

<< <i>

<< <i>Ours is a hobby that performs a unique function in reminding of historical events through the dates on our coins. Feel free to post a coin from 1964.

As I have followed the tragedy of the landslide that has taken so many lives this past week in "neighboring" Washington State, it has more than rekindled memories of the Great Alaska Earthquake that took place exactly 50 years ago this Thursday, March 27h, 1964. The earthquake struck on Good Friday and that was back when it was still politically correct to observe a religious holiday so schools were closed. That itself was a Godsend as many of our schools were severely damaged and one grade school split in half. While loss of life in Anchorage was limited compared to the coastal towns that were subsequently hit by Tsunamis the encounter had its impact upon all Alaskans.

Below are copies of some photos I was able to take as a consequence of being allowed to go past the barricades and barriers in the course of myself as one of the Explorer Scouts who were enlisted to help the Civil Defense deliver telegrams. At the time I was a sophomore in high school. However, first I will preface this commentary by quoting some excerpts of a letter I wrote by candlelight to my older brother who was away in Europe - writing during the evening of the earthquake and into the next morning as the aftershocks continued one after another:

"We are all safe at this time. The earthquake hit about an hour ago. …. I was home alone with Marlene [my baby sister] and I was in the kitchen [doing homework] when it started. I thought it would be best to go [get her from her crib] in case the quake did not stop. …. the walls creaked and the floor swayed ….. As I carried the baby out I noticed first that the hutch cabinet had tipped then I saw my science fair project on the floor …. I had only one objective - to get away from under the shaking roof. I just knew it was going to fall. ….. It is strange what one thinks in a situation like this. One thought that came to mind was that human life is more important than anything in a house and I had the strange impression flashed to me that "You return to a burning house only to save a life." It was probably five minutes before the quake had calmed [and we could go back inside.]

"Everything is a mess. [a cupboard full of china had opened and fallen and broken over where I had been sitting when the quake started] The snowman in the backyard which the kids made only a few hours ago fell down and a board over a wood shed in the back yard slipped down. ….. I had never felt a more powerful force in my life. I can't say that I felt fear when the earthquake was on - there wasn't time for that. ….. I had wild ideas about the earth cracking open and it sure felt like it was cracking open. [As I braced myself against the walls trying to get through the tiled cement floored hallway the floor raised and rolled at 45 degree angles. Years later we learned the foundation of the house had cracked.] And of course I did not know how the rest of the family was faring. There is a slight tremor right now. Since the main quake there have been several tremors. It is now 8:10 P.M. … we don't have any electricity … There is only one radio station going. KFQD. Just another tremor now. Time 8:15. The water does not work and this is a major concern …..I don't suppose many people are sleeping tonight. … The whole situation is too difficult to grasp so we attack the minute situation. For example, well I guess that is the way it must be since any large task must begin with small efforts. Curiosity is the prime emotion at this time. Who was hurt, how were they hurt, what was the damage, what does the town look like, what will happen? …. We have a few candles for light … It is 9:53 now and i detect a very very slight vibration.

"It is 10:30 [A.M.] and a tremor is going on right at this moment. It has not stopped. Still it goes. … the man on the radio described it pretty good. He said, "There it goes, you feel so helpless and small." … The man at radio station threatened to leave if another starts. His station is on an upper floor of the 4th Avenue Theater. 3 dead and 26 injured in Anchorage is the first casualty list here locally I just heard."




















>>


I took liberty to change the layout , so I could see this easier. Thanks. It's an amazing look back. (and forth) >>




Nothing like another reminder as this morning was woken at 6:16 AM by a 5.8 earthquake that seemed to last almost a minute. Apart from a few items including pictures that fell from shelves no damage but this crack in the plaster did appear. Quake was centered 110 miles away near Homer, Alaska. Link below to details.



Today's Earthquake

oilstates2003

Nothing like another reminder as this morning was woken at 6:16 AM by a 5.8 earthquake that seemed to last almost a minute. Apart from a few items including pictures that fell from shelves no damage but this crack in the plaster did appear. Quake was centered 110 miles away near Homer, Alaska. Link below to details.

Yes i felt also... In the Cook Inlet

BackroadJunkie

Thanks for posting this!

I admit, I was seven at the time, and don't remember it at all. (I remember silver coinage going away, though.)

Stuff like this fascinates me.

northcoin

<< <i>Nothing like another reminder as this morning was woken at 6:16 AM by a 5.8 earthquake that seemed to last almost a minute. Apart from a few items including pictures that fell from shelves no damage but this crack in the plaster did appear. Quake was centered 110 miles away near Homer, Alaska. Link below to details.

Yes i felt also... In the Cook Inlet >>



On one of the oil rigs? That must have been memorable as I understand the epicenter itself was in the Cook Inlet.

kiyote

14 years in the Bay Area Ca and I've barely felt a tremor! I did once see a melted pile of liberty head nickels that were supposedly in a SF cash drawer when the 1906 quake hit.