Governor Dunleavy has ordered that Alaska flags fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Monday, March 27th, in remembrance of the Great Alaska Good Friday Earthquake.
The Great Alaska Good Friday Earthquake, also known as the Good Friday Earthquake, occurred on March 27, 1964. It was a magnitude 9.2 earthquake that lasted for about four and a half minutes, making it the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America and the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded globally.
The earthquake was centered in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska, about 75 miles east of Anchorage. It caused widespread destruction across southern Alaska, with landslides, tsunamis, and ground fissures damaging or destroying many communities.
The earthquake caused 139 deaths, most of which were due to the tsunamis that followed the initial earthquake. The tsunamis caused damage and destruction as far away as California and Hawaii.
The Great Alaska Good Friday Earthquake was a significant event in the history of seismology and earthquake engineering. It led to the development of new earthquake-resistant building codes and techniques for designing earthquake-resistant structures.
