![]() ![]() The Army Corps of Engineers chose the delta of Mineral Creek after much research. The ground under Valdez was determined to be unstable and it was decided to move the location of Valdez to a new townsite. Gradually people whose homes had not been damaged were allowed to return to their property. This aid came in the form of food, clothing, and entertainment. Help from Fairbanks arrived almost immediately. Thirty-one Valdezeans (mostly children) lost their lives during the earthquake.ĭue to the unstable condition of the town, many residents were forced to live in roadhouses for a period of a couple of weeks. ![]() Large seiche waves caused additional damage. The earthquake triggered a huge submarine slide that caused millions of cubic yards of earth to slide into the Valdez Bay. $15 million dollars in damage was reported. Two docks in town were completely destroyed. The massive shock waves ripped streets apart, damaged homes and destroyed buildings in town. The magnitude of this quake measured 8.4 - 8.6 on the Richter Scale and was reported as a 9.2 Moment Magnitude (Mw). Initial shocks lasting over five minutes affected nearly all of the coastal communities The epicenter of this awesome quake was a mere 45 miles west of Valdez and 14 miles under the earth's crust. It was the second-largest earthquake ever recorded, second only to Chile in 1960, which experienced a quake of 9.5 Moment Magnitude (Mw). On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, the largest earthquake ever to hit North America struck Alaska.
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