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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey everyone, it's Eves and welcome to the

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Speaker 1: Same History Class. I am still at home, but I

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Speaker 1: am still bringing you episodes, so I hope you enjoy

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Speaker 1: today's March. The day was March nine, sixty four. A

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Speaker 1: magnitude nine point to earthquake hit Alaska, destroying buildings and

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Speaker 1: triggering landslides and tsunamis. It was the second largest earthquake

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Speaker 1: ever recorded, after the nineteen sixty Valdivia earthquake. The disaster

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Speaker 1: is sometimes known as the Good Friday earthquake because it

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Speaker 1: occurred on the holiday. At five thirty six pm local time,

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Speaker 1: an earthquake struck Alaska in the area near Prince William

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Speaker 1: Sound when a fault between the Pacific and North American

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Speaker 1: plates ruptured. The epicenter was about six miles or ten

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Speaker 1: kilometers east of the mouth of College Fjord. The ruptures

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Speaker 1: started at a depth of about sixteen miles or kilometers.

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Speaker 1: The quake lasted between four and five minutes. States as

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Speaker 1: far away as Texas felt its effects. The aftershock zone

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Speaker 1: of the earthquake extended from Prince William Sound to the

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Speaker 1: southwestern part of Kodiak Island. Thousands of aftershocks occurred over

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Speaker 1: the next year, with larger ones in the first day

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Speaker 1: after the event and smaller ones in the following months.

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Speaker 1: The earthquake devastated cities in the area. It caused damage

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Speaker 1: in many towns, including Anchorage, Hope, Moves Pass, and Valdis.

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Speaker 1: Property destruction was extensive and Anchorage where most damage occurred.

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Speaker 1: Homes and buildings were destroyed, roads split apart, water sewer

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Speaker 1: and gas lines broke, Telephone and electrical systems failed. Coastal

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Speaker 1: forests were just troid. Parts of the Alaskan coast sank

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Speaker 1: several feet and other parts rows. Around fifteen people died

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Speaker 1: in the initial quakes. Even more people died in the

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Speaker 1: waves generated by the tsunamis and landslides that followed. The

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Speaker 1: biggest landslide happened an Anchorage at turnog In Heights. Around

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Speaker 1: one and thirty acres were affected by displacements caused by

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Speaker 1: the landslide and around homes were destroyed. Some Alaska Native

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Speaker 1: villages like Shannika were wiped out, Janiga and other places

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Speaker 1: had to move to better ground, and estimated one and

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Speaker 1: thirty one people were killed in the disaster that included

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Speaker 1: people who lost their lives in places as distant as Oregon.

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Speaker 1: In California, Tsunamis caused damage along the northwestern coast of

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Speaker 1: the United States, though not as extensive. They also caused

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Speaker 1: damage in Hawaii and Japan. The quake and tsunamis were

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Speaker 1: estimated to cause at least three hundred million dollars worth

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Speaker 1: of property damage along the Pacific coast. At magnitude nine

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Speaker 1: point two, it was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded

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Speaker 1: in US history. That said, the death toll was much

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Speaker 1: lower than the quake had potential for due to low

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Speaker 1: population density in Alaska and the fact that it was

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Speaker 1: a holiday evening. Disaster relief was organized for people who

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Speaker 1: lost their homes. A day after the quake, U S

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Speaker 1: President Lyndon Johnson declared Alaska a major disaster area. Eventually,

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Speaker 1: the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers spent around one

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Speaker 1: ten million dollars repairing infrastructure, rebuilding communities, and cleaning up

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Speaker 1: the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was created

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Speaker 1: in the wake of the disaster. Anchorages Earthquake Park stands

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Speaker 1: as a commemoration of the nineteen sixty four disaster. I'm

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Speaker 1: each Chef Coote and hopefully you a little more about

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Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you want to

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Speaker 1: send us a note on social media, you can do

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Speaker 1: so on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at t d I

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Speaker 1: HC Podcast, and you can also send us a note

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Speaker 1: via email at this day at I heart media dot com.

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Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. For

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