Editing Alaska (section)

===Good Friday earthquake===
{{Main|1964 Alaska earthquake}}
On March 27, 1964, the massive [[1964 Alaska earthquake|Good Friday earthquake]] killed 133 people and destroyed several villages and portions of large coastal communities, mainly by the resultant [[tsunamis]] and landslides. It was the [[Largest earthquakes by magnitude|fourth-most-powerful earthquake]] in recorded history, with a [[moment magnitude scale|moment magnitude]] of 9.2 (more than a thousand times as powerful as the [[1989 Loma Prieta earthquake|1989 San Francisco earthquake]]).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Alan|title=1964: Alaska's Good Friday Earthquake – The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/1964-alaskas-good-friday-earthquake/100746/|access-date=2021-02-04|newspaper=The Atlantic|archive-date=February 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213045525/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/1964-alaskas-good-friday-earthquake/100746/|url-status=live}}</ref> The time of day (5:36&nbsp;pm), time of year (spring) and location of the [[epicenter]] were all cited as factors in potentially sparing thousands of lives, particularly in Anchorage. Alaska suffered a more severe [[megathrust earthquake]] on July 11, 1585, estimated at magnitude 9.25, which remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history, and the second [[Lists of earthquakes#Strongest earthquakes by magnitude|most powerful earthquake recorded]] in world history.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-13 |title=The Biggest Earthquakes In US History |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/natural-disasters/the-biggest-earthquakes-in-us-history.html |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=WorldAtlas |language=en-US |archive-date=January 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103143503/https://www.worldatlas.com/natural-disasters/the-biggest-earthquakes-in-us-history.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Good Friday earthquake lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. {{convert|600|mi|spell=In|||}} of fault ruptured at once and moved up to {{cvt|60|ft||||}}, releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. [[Soil liquefaction]], fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately [[Earthquake engineering|earthquake-engineered]] houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other human-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along [[Knik Arm]]. {{convert|200|mi|spell=In|||}} southwest, some areas near [[Kodiak Island|Kodiak]] were permanently raised by {{convert|30|ft|m|0}}. Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of [[Turnagain Arm]] near [[Girdwood, Anchorage|Girdwood]] and [[Portage (Anchorage)|Portage]] dropped as much as {{convert|8|ft|m}}, requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the [[Seward Highway]] above the new high [[tide]] mark.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake History |url=https://ready.alaska.gov/64Quake/History |access-date=January 3, 2025 |website=Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management |publisher=State of Alaska |archive-date=January 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103143506/https://ready.alaska.gov/64Quake/History |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Prince William Sound]], [[Port of Valdez|Port Valdez]] suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]] city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a {{convert|27|ft|m|adj=on}} tsunami destroyed the village of [[Chenega, Alaska|Chenega]], killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected [[Whittier, Alaska|Whittier]], [[Seward, Alaska|Seward]], Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]], and California.<ref>{{cite web |title=1964 Alaskan Tsunami|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1964/webpages/|publisher=University of Southern California Tsunami Research Group |access-date=July 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508154813/http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1964/webpages/|archive-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref> Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from [[Florida]] and [[Texas]].

Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist [[Lidia Selkregg]], the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city.<ref name=":0a">Friedel, Megan K. (2010). Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. HMC-0051. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328165246/https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ |date=March 28, 2019 }}</ref> The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by [[Ruth A. M. Schmidt]], a geology professor at the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]]. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that the rebuilt infrastructure would be safe.<ref>"Ruth Anne Marie Schmidt Ph.D." [[Alaska Women's Hall of Fame]]. 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.</ref> The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.<ref name=":0a" /><ref>Saucier, Heather (April 2014). "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists]]. Retrieved July 31, 2018.</ref>

The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez.<ref name="Hand">Cloe, John Haile [http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ "Helping Hand" Military response to Good Friday earthquake] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027054632/http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ |date=2016-10-27 }} Alaska Historical Society, 3/4/2014</ref> On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake. The U.S. Navy and [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed.<ref name="Hand" /> A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering {{convert|2570000|lbs}} of food and other supplies.<ref name="Galvin" /> Broadcast journalist, [[Genie Chance]], assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the [[KENI]] air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=When a Quake Shook Alaska, a Radio Reporter Led the Public Through the Devastating Crisis|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-date=March 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321054507/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief.<ref name=":2" /> Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barbaro |first=Michael |date=May 22, 2020 |title=Genie Chance and the Great Alaska Earthquake |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102185032/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

In the longer term, the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110&nbsp;million.<ref name=Galvin>Galvin, John [http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska, March 1964] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027062138/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ |date=2016-10-27 }} ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', 6/29/2007</ref> The [[West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center]] was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at [[Prudhoe Bay]]. At the order of the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Defense Department]], the [[Alaska National Guard]] founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters.<ref name=Hand/>