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Recent Press Releases Mayor Dan Sullivan proclaims September 2011 as National Preparedness Month (NPM) 09/02/2011 City Resumes Normal Operations as AVO Lowers Aviation and Alert Levels at Mount Redoubt 07/01/2009 Office of Emergency Management: Response Operation Level 1 04/06/2009 Office of Emergency Management: Normal Operations 04/03/2009 City Remains Prepared to Respond to Mt. Redoubt Activity 03/31/2009 Mount Redoubt Eruption May Cause Trace to Minute Amounts of Ash Fall in the Anchorage Area 03/26/2009 45th Anniversary of the Great Alaskan Earthquake 03/25/2009 MEDIA ADVISORY - Anchorage Participates in Tsunami Awareness Week 2009 03/24/2009 Mount Redoubt Eruption 03/23/2009 Alaska Volcano Observatory Lowers Level to Yellow/Advisory 03/18/2009 View All

 45th Anniversary of the Great Alaskan Earthquake 

  

3/25/2009 | Contact: Genevieve Maurits 343-1402
Emergency Management

At 5:35 p.m. on March 27, 1964, the largest earthquake in the United States shook Alaska for nearly five minutes. Registered as a magnitude 9.2, the effects of the earthquake were felt across the globe; ground liquefaction in Anchorage, flooding in Hawaii, tsunamis from Prince William Sound to California, even sloshing wells in Africa.

Resulting in 131 deaths and monetary damages totaling $300 - $400 million dollars (1964 dollars), the President declared a disaster situation in Alaska on March 28, 1964. This declaration allowed the federal government to provide assistance with recovery efforts and resulted in the addition of monitoring stations and policy changes that are in use today. For example, the West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was established as a direct result of the 1964 earthquake. Anchorage seismic building codes were put in place due to the severity of structural damages the earthquake caused.

As we remember the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964, the Municipality of Anchorage Office of Emergency Management reminds citizens to be prepared for all disasters that Anchorage residents face. The top three disasters Anchorage citizens are at risk of are earthquakes, severe winter storms and wildfires.

Three simple steps can help prepare you and your family for the next disaster.

1. Get a kit
2. Make a plan
3. Be informed

Emergency preparedness websites:

• www.muni.org/oem (Municipality of Anchorage)
• http://www.ak-prepared.com/ (State of Alaska)
• http://www.ready.gov/ (Federal Government)
• www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/index.shtm (FEMA, Earthquake Preparedness)
• www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1664 (FEMA, Earthquake Safety Checklist)