03/27/2024
On this day, March 27, 1964, sixty years ago, it was Good Friday. It was far from a good day as the world’s second most powerful earthquake ever hit, centering in Alaska and impacting regions across the lower 48. With a magnitude of 9.2, this earthquake, lasting approximately four and a half minutes, set the record as the most significant seismic event ever observed in North America. The event was characterized by the rupture of a nearly 1,000-kilometer-long fault line, with aftershocks reaching deep into the continent. The earthquake's effects were felt as far east as Florida.
The earthquake destroyed about 30 blocks in Anchorage, which was 75 miles northwest of the epicenter in Prince William Sound.