![]() Most of that energy was absorbed by the ocean and land, but much man-made construction couldn't withstand the remainder. (Later, it was found that the Richter didn't measure accurately beyond 8.0.) The surface-wave magnitude (Ms) was 8.6. The reported Richter magnitudes ranged from 8.4 to 8.6. Magnitude measurements varied, depending on the scale used. Ground deformations were extensive, with some areas east of Kodiak elevated by 30 feet and areas around Portage lowered by eight feet. To compound residents' misery, many of Anchorage's utility lines were severed. Penney building, an apartment building, the airport control tower, and several schools were damaged. Turnagain Heights, whose pliable clay bluffs collapsed because of liquefaction, was the scene of 75 destroyed houses. The strong ground motion reported in the Anchorage area lasted four to five minutes, some being tsunamigenic.ยน Ground liquefaction, when soil or sand briefly turns into to a liquid state, caused avalanches and rock slides. Nine immediate deaths occurred in the Anchorage area: five in downtown Anchorage, three in Turnagain Heights, and one at the International Airport. The rupture began, was 14 to 16 miles within the earth's crust. ![]() ![]() The epicenter was in the northern Prince William Sound, about 75 miles east of Anchorage, or about 55 miles west of Valdez. Its power made well water slosh in South Africa. The Good Friday Earthquake in Alaska was the largest recorded temblor on the North American continent, and the second largest ever recorded (largest: Chile, 1960). ![]()
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