One in October had a magnitude of 7.4, while another quake in July 2020 measured 7.6. Alaskan Command (page images at HathiTrust). The 1964 quake claimed the lives of more than 250 people, destroying Anchorage and unleashing a tsunami that wreaked havoc across the Gulf of Alaska.Īlaska was struck by two weaker earthquakes last year. Operation Helping Hand the Armed Forces react to earthquake disaster. An earthquake in Anchorage in 2018 caused significant damage Image: Reuters/N. The US state is part of the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire where earthquakes are very common. Has Alaska been hit by earthquakes before?Īlaska was was hit by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake in March 1964, the strongest ever recorded in North America. When plates snap back into position, the energy from this movement can cause huge waves to form. The quake shattered highways and rocked buildings in Anchorage and the surrounding area. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that there is no risk of tsunami damaging Japan's coast after it said there might be small changes to tide levels.Įarthquakes are the result of sudden movement along faults within the Earth caused by the release of built-up pressure at plate boundaries. This aerial photo shows damage on Vine Road, south of Wasilla, Alaska, after an earthquake Nov. Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center scrapped the alerts when it emerged that the threat was not as great as first feared.

In Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, sirens blared as residents were ordered to move to higher ground. In Alaska, there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Several coastal communities had been evacuated as a precaution. But authorities later canceled those warnings. Tsunami warnings were issued for Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

A powerful 7. Image: Deutsche Welle (DW) Why were the tsunami warnings canceled? Striking images from Alaska after earthquake rocks Anchorage. Geological Survey reports that: The earthquake caused rivers, lakes, and other waterways to slosh as far away as the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. local time, the earth began to shake in the subduction zone in the Prince William Sound in Alaska. The powerful earthquake even permanently altered the Alaskan landscape. On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. The earthquake hit 56 miles (91 kilometers) southeast of the town of Perryville, some 500 miles from Anchorage, Alaska's biggest city. Rail lines were bent like licorice sticks and twisted into knots. It measured the quake as having a depth of 35 kilometers (21.7 miles).

The US Geological Survey (USGS) had initially reported that the magnitude was 7.2. These photographs will help you understand why this earthquake made scientists and engineers push for laws. US authorities lifted a string of tsnuami warnings after an earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck the Alaska Peninsula on Thursday. Photos of the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964.

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