The 1964 Earthquake
On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, at 5:36 P.M., Alaska was rocked by what became known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake—or simply, the earthquake.
Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, it registered 9.2 on the Richter scale, making it the most powerful earthquake in North American history, and the second most powerful ever recorded globally.
The destruction was staggering: ground fissures, landslides, collapsing structures, and massive tsunamis devastated towns across south-central Alaska. In Anchorage, entire blocks buckled or disappeared as the ground gave way.
Some parts of Kodiak rose 30 feet, while areas near Girdwood and Portage dropped by as much as eight feet, permanently altering the landscape. Tsunamis triggered by the quake hit Valdez, Chenega, Seward, Whittier, and Kodiak, and caused damage as far away as British Columbia, California, Hawaii, and Japan.
Within the first 24 hours, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with magnitudes greater than 6.0. An additional nine major aftershocks occurred over the next three weeks. Thousands of aftershocks occurred in the months following the main quake. Smaller after shocks continued for more than a year. Approximately 12,000 aftershocks were recorded by October 1964.
In total, 139 people lost their lives. It could have been far worse.
Our Family’s Experience
All five of us were in downtown Anchorage when the quake hit.
My mother was inside the J.C. Penney building, which suffered severe damage. She made it to the interior stairwell just in time, and escaped with only a scraped arm when a sheet of drywall came down. A minor injury, considering what could have happened.
One of my brothers was at the 4th Avenue Theatre , watching The Sword in the Stone. He remembers the projector flying out of the booth. Thankfully, he got out safely.
I was with my dad and my other brother, standing on the corner of 4th Avenue, getting ready to cross the street.
My most vivid memory of the quake is standing there on that downtown street corner, clutching my dad’s hand, watching in horror as the plate glass windows shattered all around us and the storefronts across the street dropped nearly out of sight. The ground didn’t just shake—it moved. Rolled. Opened.
I’ll never forget one moment in particular: a car full of people vanished with the collapsing street—and then, suddenly, all four doors flew open at once. It was surreal, like something out of a dream or a disaster movie. Only it was real.
The part of town we were in dropped dramatically during the quake. Here’s a link showing just how much the ground fell in that exact area:
➡ Popular Mechanics – The Ground Dropped Here
And for those curious about the quake’s lasting impact, it didn’t just change Alaska—it changed science.
➡ Anchorage Daily News – How the 1964 Earthquake Changed Science
We were incredibly lucky. We walked away. But the memory of those four and a half minutes never left us.
J.C. Penney Building
J.C. Penney building
Downtown Anchorage
Twisted beam in Cordova building in downtown Anchorage
Hillside Apartments Anchorage
Collapsed Four Seasons apartment building that was under construction at the time.
L Street Apartment Building – zoom in to see damage
Sunken buildings on L Street
Damaged home in Anchorage – zoom in to get a closer look
Outdoor kitchen for earthquake victims – water and power were out for much of Anchorage
123 ton locomotive carried 150 feet inland by tsunami
Quake damaged oil tanks in Whittier
Quake damaged RR tracks at Potter Hill outside Anchorage
