The duration of the quake was also responsible for the extensive damage in Turnagain. The homes there were built on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The substrate was not rock, but a mixture of clay and sand. When subjected to sustained vibration, this combination turns to “quickclay”, which is basically a very slippery goo. Wiki. This was a known condition when the developer built the homes there, but he didn’t let it deter him. 75 houses quite literally slid down the steep incline to the water. One house that broke apart was occupied by a woman and her children. The house split open, and she watched one of her kids drop into the crack. It closed again. He was never found.
Great account, Chefguy. And buddha_david, thanks for that clarification.
She was not wrong about tsunamis, just about locations.
Anyone with a decent knowledge of tsunami history knows that yes indeed, that quake did generate a tsunami. In 1964, the science wasn’t as good as it is now, but speculating about a possible tsunami based on what was then understood seems like a pretty reasonable thing.
There is an exhibit at the Tsunami Museum in Hilo (which includes information on the devastating effects of the 1964 tsunami) where people are asked to pretend that they are responsible for predicting tsunamis after an earthquake. If you predict one, people evacuate, and then a tsunami hits, you are a hero. If you predict one, people evacuate, and then there is no tsunami hits, you are branded as a loser because of all the money you wasted preparing for a disaster that didn’t come.
She was causing unnecessary panic by repeating a rumor. And I really don’t need a lecture about earthquakes and their aftermath, particularly that one.
You were there, I was not, so I most certainly defer to your judgment. And I didn’t mean to “lecture,” so sorry if it came across that way.
What I did mean, though, was to point out that our knowledge of tsunami propagation was pretty limited in 1964. Is it possible she was acting out of a genuine belief that she could help people understand they needed to evacuate, and that there was no way anyone in her shoes at the time could have known to say, “don’t suggest people should evacuate, it will only cause panic and there is most definitely no tsunami threat”?
Or do you think she was being a silly airhead who should have known better, enjoying the sense of self-importance that certain “Chicken Little” types are prone to feel?
She could possibly have been reacting to news about the tsunamis in Seward and Valdez, although those struck within minutes of the quake (the epicenter was only 40 miles from there, and 78 miles from Anchorage) and communication was almost non-existent. Any potential tsunami would have struck Anchorage within the first half hour. Of course, that information would not have been available to her. I have serious doubts that she (or anybody else) had communication from towns on Prince William Sound, as it was devastation in that area, so have to assume that she was passing on information created out of whole cloth. I remember it as being a somewhat hysterical broadcast that we only heard because we had one of those new-fangled transistor radios.
Interesting to note that by a week later, people were back at work in the buildings that weren’t structurally compromised. I was actually playing basketball at the local community center the following Friday when a magnitude 5 aftershock struck and sent everybody flooding into the streets in a panic. We finished out our school year at the newly built East High School, going in shifts with the kids on that side of town. The following (senior) year, we returned to our now one-level school, which had been supplemented with temporary wooden huts, and with some classes being held in the nearby middle school.
Chefguy, are there any Alaskan museums/books/documentaries or materials of that nature (no pun intended) that incorporate memories like yours? Here on the Big Island we have a Tsunami Museum that includes science, history, and first-person accounts, including of course the 1964 tsunami that hit Hilo after the Alaska quake. Actually when it first opened, the museum was dedicated specifically to the stories of tsunamis that have hit the Big Island, but now it includes exhibits on the massive 2004 and 2011 tsunamis as well.
It is so fascinating to read stories like yours. Have you ever been interviewed by anyone who is collecting memories for some kind of official record (or do you know others who were)?
I haven’t, but I know there are websites that have stories of many people who lived through it. Some, especially those of the folks who endured the tsunamis, are pretty harrowing. I would suspect that if you looked on eBay or Amazon, you’d find books about it.
There is an “experience” theater in Anchorage that tries to recreate the shaking and all by having you sit in seats that move. There is also Earthquake Park out near Point Woronzof, where you can see all the heaved earth, etc. It’s pretty overgrown with plant life after more than 50 years, however. Oddly enough, people have built houses back in that same area, on top of the subsided land.
Another scary thing is that the area in Anchorage called “Hillside” (a steep grade on the foothills of the Chugach Range), which was completely undeveloped in 1964, is now covered with homes. I would expect that most all of those homes would end up sliding down the mountain in another large quake.
Right. The ground shaking intensity basically has a maximum that it doesn’t exceed. The Richter scale was based on ground shaking, and it saturated at bigger earthquakes. A 7.5 and a 9.0 have similar amplitude of ground shaking, but vastly different amounts of energy released due to the size of the area affected and duration.
A zombie awakes…
There is a NYT review (not entirely favorable) of a new book on this lady and the earthquake.
Interesting. She was certainly on the air a lot of the time, and was responsible for coordinating a lot of the efforts being made. My main memory, as noted above, was of the tsunami episode, probably because my mother was terrified about staying in the house, clearly wanting to get the hell out, while my father sat there unmoved by it all.
I remember that earthquake very well. Life Magazine had a special edition about it, with some excellent photos.
My sister happened to be in Montana with her husband when it hit. For the rest of her life she always bemoaned the fact that she “missed the most exciting thing to ever happen in Alaska.” She was also beside herself with worry, not knowing if we were all dead or not, as the first news she got was that an earthquake had “destroyed Anchorage.”
I remember an article in the Nationa Geogrphic magazine, in which a family described the ordeal of the quake. Found it. The issue was July 1964.
One of my early memories of visiting the paternal grandparents is a photo in the Easter Sunday newspaper showing the damage.
I stumbled across this book in our local Kindle library. I’d never heard of Ms. Chance, and came away from the book very impressed with what she accomplished. But I agree with the NYT reviewer- the book isn’t well-written and falls flat despite the fascinating story it tells.
Can you give us some perspective on how far you lived away from the water?
Looking at google maps of Anchorage, it looks the West Anchorage High School is less than a mile from the Northeastern Cook Inlet (Estuary?)
Wiki said that Texas and Florida some tidal movement. That is a long way for the oceans to slosh around.
Although I don’t remember it (born in 1966), and where I live isn’t close to Alaska (North Iowa) I do have a story that is related.
On a farm my uncle owned was a well/hydrant. While bailing hay we would stop and get a drink. I mentioned one time that the water tasted bad as usually well water was good tasting. My uncle said that it was a very deep well and until the earthquake of '64 was some of the best tasting water around. After the earthquake the taste went “bad” but not bad enough not to drink if you were thirsty enough. Did the earthquake make the well go “bad”? That’s what my uncle said anyways.
I’m glad this thread got bumped and enjoyed your posts, Chefguy. 
Same here, me too.