On March 28, 1964 there was an earthquake in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The earthquake was 9.2 on the Richter scale. It took away 125 lives, and caused $311 million in property losses. Afterwards, there was a tidal wave called a tsunami. The tidal wave affected the western United States, Hawaii, and Asia.
Along with the earthquake and tidal wave, there were terrible land slides that caused million of dollars in repairs. The biggest landslide, which covered about 130 acres, occurred at Turnagain Heights.
Mr. and Mrs. Alvar were both living on Kodiak Island, Alaska at the time of the earthquake. "The area was hit by many aftershocks, maybe as many as a hundred a day." said Mr. Alvar. He also added that the after shocks were "Like being pushed by someone." Some were just as big as the real one. They were very quick. The electricity in the area was off for almost a week.
To escape the tidal wave the Alvar Family went up to Old Women Mountain for the night. The wave washed a lot of boats on land one boat called the Serif was washed over the town with it's motor on and it ended up in a school playground on op of a hill.
Mrs. Alvar summed up their feelings about the earthquake, "It was very scary. I had three young children at the time. My youngest was buried under baby things like diapers and he didn't feel a thing."
Alaska is the biggest state in America, and was the forty-ninth state. It has at least eighty islands. Its present day capital is Juneau. Alaska has it all, from steep canyons to tall mountains. It even has HUGE glaciers. You can do anything you want to do in this wonderful state.
Earthquakes are one of the saddest things on earth. Earthquakes are a danger from below. Earthquakes are when two pieces of land move or scrape across each other. This area where this happens is called a fault. If you were to explain an earthquake to a child you might say, "The earth is burping". Earthquakes can destroy everything with no warning.
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