ARTICLE: "Navy Operations at Kodiak" by Cdr. Alfred Stroh Jr., Civil Engineer Corps, United States Navy. -- the event was: Good Friday, 1964: The Great Alaskan Earthquake. -- The following is some basic information about the quake, not his article. -- March 27, 1964: It was a typical late afternoon in Alaska. Many in Anchorage, Valdez, Kodiak and Seward were honoring Good Friday and anticipating a pleasant Easter Sunday. At 5:36 p.m., that all changed. An enormously powerful 9.2 Magnitude earthquake struck in Prince William Sound. Its epicenter was 6-mi east of the entrance to the College Fjord, 78-mi east of Anchorage and at a 15-mi depth, making it the second largest earthquake in recorded history behind the 9.5 Magnitude earthquake that struck Chile in 1960. The Alaskan quake was felt for more than four minutes in an area nearly twice the size of Texas, although those who lived through it often felt it lasted much longer. On the first day alone, there were 11 aftershocks of 6.0 Magnitude or greater. Over the ensuing three weeks, nine more aftershocks of that magnitude were felt and smaller aftershocks resonated throughout the next year. Losses and damage from the earthquake and resulting tsunami were heavy. The quake was felt throughout the entire state.
