40 years ago on Good Friday (March 27th) 1964, the second largest earthquake ever recorded shook southern Alaska, generating tsunamis that struck as far away as Japan and California. A whopping 9.2 on the Richter scale, the quake also lasted for over three minutes (not counting the numerous aftershocks), causing landslides, liquefaction and really crazy cracks in the earth in this (mercifully) sparsely populated state. The ground moved like your Grandma shaking out a rug on the back porch, is what I’m sayin’. And why do I care? Because, aside from all the devastation noted above, it also knocked my favorite TV show "Fireball XL-5" off the air, and cracked several of our Easter eggs! That’s right. In the words of Pee Wee Herman, "I lived it.".
On the same street in the picture above was the B&B Cafe. My dad was a city cop at the time, and as he made his way around, looking for survivors, he was surprised to find the cafe entirely intact. Spoons still in soup, soup still in bowls, bowls still on tables. He pulled a piece of pie from the countertop display and, in this cafe now 30 feet below the street, took a much-needed break.
FIND OUT MORE about "THE BIG ONE".
Fortunately, Alaska was home to a relatively small population of outdoor-savvy adventurous types, who took it all in stride, rather than being, say, home to millions, some of whom (being super-rich) might have felt compelled to erect very tall buildings.
You don’t mention any deaths. I hope it’s safe to assume that there were none, or at least very few.
Natural disasters can be exciting if you’re young and clueless. I was eight when New York was hit by Hurricane Donna and I remember thinking what *fun* it was – being dismissed from school early, walking home in torrential rains (the water in the gutters well up past my ankles) and loss of all electricity (my sisters and I played with flashlights) and gawking the next morning at a neighbor’s weeping-willow tree that had been uprooted and lying on its side.
It wasn’t until recently that I looked up the story of the hurricane and learned that it caused over 100 deaths and God knows how much property damage.
Hope your dad enjoyed the pie. Under those crazy circumstances it must have tasted as good as anything Adam and Eve ever tasted in Eden.
There were deaths, but as I hinted in the post, very few. Mostly caused by tsunamis on the coast. Probably like alot of disaster survivors, I do remember with fondness the way everyone pulled together and got through the mess. No gas or electricity, everything a shambles. Aside from the danger involved, natural events like this just cause a natural fascination in us humans. If you have ever seen a tornado, you will know what I mean. A tragedy, but spellbinding none the less.
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