The Alaska earthquake of 1964 (Anchorage, Fairbanks: house, purchasing, live)

[Cida]

A historical look back - and maybe people here have stories to share, too?


The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 surprised everyone by showing that natural disasters can bring out more kindness than selfishness.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/o...-response.html

https://www.wired.com/story/disaster...well-actually/

[Yosh01]

My parents had an old well with a hand pump in the back yard. The morning after the earthquake, water started flowing up the well and out the pump. They removed the hand pump and put a spigot on the well which still works today. There was another spot in the yard where the sod lifted in a dome and water gurgled out. They dug that one up and discovered an old well pipe in the ground which they sealed.

And this was in southern Minnesota.

[pnwguy2]

I lived in Anchorage in the mid-90’s and bought a great magazine/paperback titled “8.6 The Great Alaska Earthquake” authored by Stan Cohen. Really an excellent portrait of that great quake with rare photos. I would recommend but not sure it is available.

I experienced more quakes in my two years in Anchorage than my entire life. Sure most were in the 4.0 to 5.0 range but still that is lasting memory of my time there.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

I lived in Anchorage in the mid-90’s and bought a great magazine/paperback titled “8.6 The Great Alaska Earthquake” authored by Stan Cohen. Really an excellent portrait of that great quake with rare photos. I would recommend but not sure it is available.

I experienced more quakes in my two years in Anchorage than my entire life. Sure most were in the 4.0 to 5.0 range but still that is lasting memory of my time there.

I've lived places in AK where going more than 2 weeks without a noticeable tremor was unusual. When the USGS earthquake website pops up in your most frequently visited sites list that tells you something! A close friend of mine told me her earthquake story. She remembers she was playing in the street in front of their house. She watched the house collapse and disappear in front of her. Her younger sister was inside and was killed.

[atler8]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

I lived in Anchorage in the mid-90’s and bought a great magazine/paperback titled “8.6 The Great Alaska Earthquake” authored by Stan Cohen. Really an excellent portrait of that great quake with rare photos. I would recommend but not sure it is available.

I experienced more quakes in my two years in Anchorage than my entire life. Sure most were in the 4.0 to 5.0 range but still that is lasting memory of my time there.

FYI: If you or anyone else is interested in finding or purchasing that book, it may be available via an online seller.
Simply do a search for the book title (and author if you know it) and go look at the search results.


I have personally found a number of obscure books on various topics over the years via that online search methodology.

[Arktikos]

It was revised to be a 9.2 earthquake. Former boss of mine was working for Alaska Airlines at Cordova when it hit.

He was in a hangar that didn't seem like the best place to be so the guys ran out onto the tarmac. He said it started splitting open, exposing crevasse like gaps that had to be danced around in order to avoid. At end of tarmac the forest of evergreens was swaying back and forth violently with some tree trunks snapping and breaking. It lasted a long time too, almost 5 minutes.

[rwjoyak]

I lived in Fairbanks at the time. Walked outside and watched the branches on the aspen trees across the street swaying dramatically from side to side. Lived in Alaska for nearly 40 years and then in California for another 15, so have experienced lots of earthquakes. But the 64 Alaska quake was the longest by far, seemed to go on forever and ever.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

When I was a kid (maybe fifty years ago), Mom took me on my first vacation out west to meet relatives, see Yellowstone, etc.. I remember driving past a giant boulder (maybe as big as a garage), with a sign posted nearby, stating that it was dislodged and rolled some distance due to the '64 Alaska quake. It was in southern Montana. So yeah, it must have been a biggun'.

[orca17]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

I lived in Anchorage in the mid-90’s and bought a great magazine/paperback titled “8.6 The Great Alaska Earthquake” authored by Stan Cohen. Really an excellent portrait of that great quake with rare photos. I would recommend but not sure it is available.

$30.99 on Amazon. There is also a bunch of other books on the subject by various authors.


The Great Alaska Earthquake - Stan Cohen

[Cida]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

I've lived places in AK where going more than 2 weeks without a noticeable tremor was unusual. When the USGS earthquake website pops up in your most frequently visited sites list that tells you something! A close friend of mine told me her earthquake story. She remembers she was playing in the street in front of their house. She watched the house collapse and disappear in front of her. Her younger sister was inside and was killed.

Wow, that's scary, to have them so constant.

Originally Posted by Parnassia

I've lived places in AK where going more than 2 weeks without a noticeable tremor was unusual. When the USGS earthquake website pops up in your most frequently visited sites list that tells you something! A close friend of mine told me her earthquake story. She remembers she was playing in the street in front of their house. She watched the house collapse and disappear in front of her. Her younger sister was inside and was killed.

I don't know how someone would deal with that kind of trauma.