The Alaska Earthquake 

March 27, 1964 

Effects on Transportation and Utilities 

Air and Water Transport 

Communications, and Utilities 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 545-8 
This page intentionally left blank
THE ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964: 

EFFECTS ON TRANSPORTATION, COMMUNICATIONS, AND UTILITIES 

Effects of the Earthquake 

Of March 27, 1964, on 

Air and Water Transport, 

Communications, and 

Utilities Systems 

In South-Central Alaska 

By EDWIN B. ECKEL 

A description of the disruption and damage that 

all systems sustained from seismic vibrations 

and tectonic changes and from the slides, waves, 

and fires caused by the earthquake 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 545-B 

APR 11 1991 

O~T 2 1967 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

William T. Pecora, Director 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON 1967 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 35 cents (paper cover) 
THE 

.ALASKA EARTHQUAKE 

SERIES 

Tho U.S. Geological Survey is publishing the results of 

its investigations of the Alaska earthquake of March 27, 

1964, in a series of six professional papers. Professional 

Paper 545 describes the effects of the earthquake on transportation, communications, and utilities. Other professional 

papers describe the effects on communities, regions, and the 

hydrologic regimen; and one gives the history of the field 

investigations and reconstruction effort. 

CONTENTS 

Pa~e Shipping-Continued Page Communications and utilitiesAbstract_____________________ B1 Cordova ___________________ B10 Continued Page 

Introduction__________________ 1 

Air transport_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 

Anchorage____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3 

Whittier_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11 

Smaller Prince William Sound 

communities______________ 11 

Power systems in Anchorage 

and the Matanuska Valley 

and on the Kenai PeninCordova___________________ 4 sula _____ -_______________ B19 

Kodiak Naval Station_______ 5 Homer_____________________ 12 Petroleum and natural gas faKenai Peninsula_____________ 5 Seward_____________________ 12 cilities_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 21 

Seward_____________________ 6 Seldovia____________________ 13 Anchorage__________________ 23 

Whittier___________________ 6 

Other airports______________ 6 

Shipping_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6 

Effect on economic pattern___ 7 

Kodiak and Kodiak Naval Station_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 14 

Valdez_____________________ 15 

Cordova___________________ 24 

Kodiak_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 24 

Seward_____________________ 25 

Valdez_____________________ 25 

Navigation aids_____________ 7 Communications and utilities _ _ 18 Whittier_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 26 

Anchorage____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9 Communications systems_____ 18 References cited_______________ 26 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURES 

Page 

1. Map of south-central Alaska, showing where principal ports, airports, and utility 

systems were damaged by the earthquake _________________________________ _ VI 

2-16. Photographs: 

2. Control tower at Anchorage International Airport, collapsed by the earthquake __ B2 

3. New control tower at Anchorage International Airport ____________________ _ 3 

4. Airstrip at Seldovia, under repair_ ______________________________________ _ 5 

5. Anchorage municipal wharf and part of the port of Anchorage _____________ _ 9 

6. Cordova Harbor as it appeared in February 1965 _________________________ _ 10 

7. New small-boat basin on Homer Spit ___________________________________ _ 12 

8. New small-boat basin and railroad dock at Seward _______________________ _ 13 

9. Rebuilt Seldovia port at low tide in March 1965 _________________________ _ 14 

10. Valdez, old and new sites ______________________________________________ _ 16 

11. Partly completed port facilities at new town of Valdez ____________________ _ 17 

12. Tipped power poles, Turnagain Arm ____________________________________ _ 19 

13. Wrecked power poles, Turnagain Arm __________________________________ _ 19 

14. Gas pipes, ruptured in tension and compression __________________________ _ 22 

15. Gas main broken by landslide in Anchorage _____________________________ _ 22 

16. Seward's new standby generating plant_ ________________________________ _ 25 

v 
0 

50 0 50 100 

s 

EXPLANATION 

Approximate line of zero land level 

change (after Plafker, 1965) 

150 MILES 

1.-South-central Alaska, showing main power (short-dashed) and gas-transmission (solid) lines and principal communities whose 

ports, airports, or utility systems were damaged by the earthquake. Land to left of zero land level change line was generally 

lowered; land to right of line was raised. 

VI 
THE ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964: EFFECTS ON TRANSPORTATION, 

COMMUNICATIONS, AND UTILITIES 

EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE OF MARCH 27, 1964, ON AIR AND 

WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS, AND UTILITIES SYSTEMS 

The earthquake of March 27, 1964, 

wrecked or severely hampered all forms 

of transportation, all utilities, and all 

communications systems over a very 

large part of south-central Alaska. Effects on air transportation were minor 

as compared to those on the water, 

highway, and railroad transport systems. A few planes were damaged or 

wrecked by seismic vibration or by 

flooding. Numerous airport facilities 

were damaged by vibration or by secondary effects of the earthquake, notably seismic sea and landslide-generated 

waves, tectonic subsidence, and compaction. Nearly all air facilities were 

partly or wholly operational within a 

few hours after the earthquake. 

The earthquake inflicted enormous 

damage on the shipping industry, which 

is indispensable to a State that imports 

The earthquake of March 27, 

1964, wrecked or severely hampered all forms of transportation, 

all utilities, and all communications systems over a very large 

part of south-central Alaska. 

The relationship of geology to 

the earthquake's effects on the 

highway and railroad systems 

was studied in detail by Reuben 

Kachadoorian and by D. S. McCulloch and M. G. Bonilla, respectively, and their findings will 

be reported separately in this 

series. Similarly, effects on water supplies, from both surface 

and underground sources, are deBy Edwin B. Eckel 

ABSTRACT 

fully 90 percent of its requirementsmostly by water-and whose largest 

single industry is fishing. Except for 

those of Anchorage, all port facilities 

in the earthquake-aff-ected area were destroyed or made inoperable by submarine slides, waves, tectonic uplift, and 

fire. No large vessels were lost, but 

more than 200 smaller ones (mostly 

crab or salmon boats) were lost or severely damaged. Navigation aids were 

destroyed, and hitherto well-known waterways were greatly altered by uplift 

or subsidence. All these effects wrought 

far-reaching changes in the shipping 

economy of Alaska, many of them to 

it betterment. 

Virtually all utilities and communications in south-central Alaska were 

damaged or wrecked by the earthquake, 

but temporary repairs were effected in 

INTRODUCTION 

scribed in detail by Waller (1966a, 

b). The earthquake damage to 

one of the chief sources of electric 

power in the Anchorage areathe U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's 

Eklutna Hydroelectric Project~ 

is described by Logan (1967), and 

a novel method of tracing breaks 

in underground utility lines by 

means of a portable television 

camera is described by Burton 

(in Logan, 1967). 

In order to complete the picture of the earthquake's effects 

on the works of man, its effects 

on air and water transport and 

on utilities are briefly summarremarkably short times. Communications systems were silenced almost everywhere by loss of power or by downed 

lines; their place was quickly taken by 

a patchwork of self-powered radio transmitters. A complex power-generating 

system that served much of the stricken 

area from steam, diesel, and hydrogenerating plants was disrupted in many 

places by vibration damage to equipment and by broken transmission lines. 

Landslides in Anchorage broke gas-distribution lines in many places, but the 

main transmission line from the Kenai 

Peninsula was virtually undamaged. 

Petroleum supplies were disrupted, principally by breakage or loss of storage 

tanks caused by seismic vibration, 

slides, waves, and fire. Water-supply 

and sewer lines were also broken in 

many towns. 

ized here. The principal places 

affected are shown on figure 1. 

The report is necessarily a synthesis of information collected and 

reported by others in the course 

of investigating various regional 

or topical phases of the earthquake story; most of these sources 

are listed in the bibliography. 

In addition, several of the writer's colleagues, particularly Reuben Kachadoorian and George 

Plafker, have contributed many 

pieces of information; this compilation would have been far less 

complete without their help. 

Bl 
B2 

The earthquake's effects on a1r 

transportation were minor as compared to those on the water, 

highway, and railroad transport 

systems. This minor damage was 

doubly fortunate, for the earthquake catastrophe itself made 

immediate massive airlifts essential. Moreover, air transport of 

people and goods is much more 

important in Alaska than elsewhere in the United States. In 

addition to the great military and 

ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

AIR TRANSPORT 

commercial air capability, Alaska 

has one aircraft for each 156 

people; one pen;on in every 55 

is a licensed pilot. 

The few planes that were airborne at the moment the earthquake struck were of course not 

damaged, though some had communications difficulties and some 

were diverted to other airports. 

Planes on the ground or in hangars 

were damaged by being battered 

against each other or against 

fixed objects; at least one plane 

was badly damaged by water 

immersion on a ramp at the 

Kodiak Naval Station, one was 

destroyed at Kodiak, and several 

small planes were wrecked by 

waves at Seward. 

Damages to airport facilities 

were caused in part bY. earthquake 

vibrations, in part by secondary 

effects, notably waves, and in 

part by tectonic subsidence and 

compaction. Numerous buildings 

2.-Control tower at Anchorage International Airport, collapsed by earthquake shaking. Photograph by Federal,Aviation Agency. 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B3 

were damaged and their utilities 

disrupted by seismic shaking. 

The wrecked control tower at 

Anchorage International Airport 

was one of the greatest single 

losses, caused by vibration, that 

directly affected the aviation 

system (figs. 2, 3). Some subsidiary buildings, however, such 

as the military hospital at Elmendorf Air Base, sustained greater 

damages in terms of total repair 

costs. Many runways, aprons, 

and taxiways were cracked and 

made uneven by shaking and the 

resultant differential consolidation of alluvial materials or 

artifical fill. Hangars, seaplane 

ramps, and parts of the runways 

at Kodiak Naval Station were 

flooded by a series of seismic 

sea waves, and a few smaller 

airstrips were either destroyed 

by waves or were subjected to 

partial flooding by high tides due 

to regional subsidence. Despite 

all these difficulties, total damage 

to Alaska's air facilities amounted 

to only a few million dollars, as 

compared with more than $100 

million worth of damages to the 

water, rail, and highway systems. 

More significant than the relatively small dollar losses, 

perhaps, is the fact that nearly 

all air facilities were partly or 

wholly operational within a few 

hours after the earthquake. This 

made possible the enormous air 

transport of people, food, and 

supplies that were required at once. 

ANCHORAGE 

All three major airfields at 

Anchorage-Elmendorf Air Force 

Base. Anchorage International 

Airport, and Merrill Field-escaped the huge landslides that 

wrought so much havoc in parts 

of Anchorage (Hansen, 1965), but 

all sustained some degree of damage by earthquake vibration. 

Merrill Field, heavily used by the 

244-767 0---67-2 

3.-New control tower for Anchorage International Airport, built by Federal 

Aviation Agency at a cost of $850,000. One of the first of the new 0-type towers 

in the nation, it was operational by February, 1965. Photograph by Federal 

Aviation Agency. 

Civil Air Patrol and by private 

planes, was back in full operation 

within an hour of the quake, and 

served as a control center for all 

air traffic in the Anchorage area 

while control facilities at Elmendorf and Anchorage International 

were being repaired. 

The two chief military installations at Anchorage--Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force 

Base--are on a broad plain north 

of the city. They are founded on 

thick outwash gravels of the Elmendorf morame (Miller and 

Dobrovolny, 1959). Except for a 

few minor slipouts along the north 

bluff of Ship Creek, there were 

no landslides of the kind that 

devastated nearby Government 

Hill and other parts of Anchorage 

(Hansen, 1965), and there were 

but few ground cracks. Many 

large and small buildings on both 

military reservations, however, 

sustained structural damage from 

shaking by the earthquake. 

Those directly connected with air 
B4 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

transportation were two of the 

hangars at Elmendorf and the 

control tower at that base. Disrupted power and communications 

facilities, of course, added to the 

difficulties of maintaining the military air capability. Despite 

these difficulties, the Elmendorf 

airfield remained operational; even 

during the initial shaking, and 

despite violent swaying, the control tower maintained radio contacts. Soon after the shaking 

subsided, however, air-traffic control was transferred to facilities 

installed in a parked aircraft, and 

2 days after the earthquake the 

aircraft was replaced by a mobile 

control tower that was used until 

the damaged tower was rebuilt. 

Anchorage International Airport is southwest of the city. 

It is built on a thin layer of silt 

that overlies older glacial deposits. These, in turn, probably 

overlie the Bootlegger Cove 

Clay, whose weakness under 

earthquake stresses led to the 

disastrous landslides at Turnagain Heights 2 miles north of 

the airfield. Anchorage Airport is too far inland to have had 

similar landslides, but it sustained significant damage from 

the earthquake shocks. The 

runways and taxiways cracked 

in a few places, but were easily 

resurfaced. The greatest single loss was the new 50-foot reinforced-concrete control tower, 

which toppled to the ground, 

carrying one operator to his 

death. The tower was later replaced (figs. 2, 3). After the 

disaster, traffic controllers first 

used a parked small plane to 

talk with Merrill Fic>ld, which 

was still operational. Later, the 

tower of the nearby Lake Hood 

seaplane facility was used by 

Anchorage air control. A hangar and part of the 3-story steelframe terminal building also 

collapsed during the earthquake. 

Among other facilities, the 

Weather Bureau station in the 

terminal building was demolished. 

CORDOVA 

At Cordova airport the main 

150-foot-wide surfaced runway 

was virtually unaffected by the 

earthquake, but the bordering 

runway aprons, which are each 

150 feet wide, and the nearby 

F.A.A. (Federal Aviation Agency) 

facilities sustained moderate damage from ground cracking; the 

violent ground motion caused 

powerlines to snap. The airport 

and appurtenant facilities are on 

thick alluvial deposits of the flat 

poorly drained Copper River delta 

13 miles east of Cordova. Drainage ditches 10-12 feet deep and 

about 7 5 feet wide parallel the 

airstrip on either side. Seismic 

shaking caused the aprons to 

spread laterally toward the bordering ditches with resultant 

cracking of the apron surfaces. 

Most of the cracks thus formed 

were extension cracks, as much 

as 8 inches wide, that were parallel to the edge of the airstrip. 

A single ground crack split the 

reinforced-concrete slab floor of 

the F.A.A. office building and 

control tower at the airport, but 

did not interrupt operation of 

the facility. The fact that the 

crack was parallel to, and about 

20-50 feet from, a small creek 

suggests that it resulted from lateral movement of the surficial 

deposits toward the creek channel. Underground water and 

steam lines at the F.A.A. facility were broken in so many places 

by ground cracking that most 

of the system had to be replaced. 

KODIAK NAVAL STATION 

Air facilities at Kodiak Naval 

Station, which serves both military and scheduled civilian traffie, were moderately damaged by 

flooding, tectonic subsidence, and 

vibration. Damage to the naval 

port facilities is described on 

page B15. 

The earthquake vibrations 

cracked water mains and caused 

other minor damage. A series of 

seismic sea waves that began 

about 45 minutes after the earthquake inundated many buildings, 

including the three main hangars 

and the central power station. 

The inundating waters damaged 

runway lights, the Operations 

Control generator, the Tactical 

Air Command and Navigation 

generator, and the Rawin Aerological Building. These structures are essential in controlling 

the smooth flow of air traffic in 

and out of the naval station. 

Debris and ice were dumped on 

aprons in the hangar area. The 

seaplane ramps on W 01nens Bay 

were partly submerged at high 

tides, owing to the tectonic subsidence of more than 5 feet. 

The main runways were only 

damaged near the seaward ends, 

but asphalt taxiways were 

cracked, either by the vibration 

itself or as a result of consolidation 

of underlying materials (Tudor, 

1964; Stroh, 1964; Kachadoorian 

and Plafker, 1967). The seaward 

end of the main runway was subjected to erosion by high tides as a 

result of regional subsidence; this 

erosion will be a continuing 

problem. 

A sheet-pile bulkhead between 

two seaplane ramps on W omens 

Bay failed and moved outward 

at a point where the piles had been 

driven into soft sediments in an 

old channel (Stroh, 1964). 

Hangars and apron slabs at 

the naval station were built on 

artifical fill approximately 17 feet 

thick; heavier structures were 

supported by piles. Differential 

consolidation of the fill, plus 

scour by receding seismic sea 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B5 

4.-Tectonic subsidence required raising of airstrip at Seldovia. U.S. Army photograph. 

waves, led to settlement at one 

corner of a hangar. More important, settlement of aprons in 

front of hangar doors caused 

formation of "lips" from 1 to 6 

inches high that made it difficult to move planes in and out 

of the hangars. These conditions 

were repaired by constructing 

wooden ramps and later by raising 

the apron slabs by injection of 

grout beneath them (Stroh, 

1964). 

The Kodiak city airstrip was 

undamaged. However, all installations of Kodiak Airways, which 

were along the waterfront in 

downtown Kodiak, were totally 

destroyed. Seaplane ramps, 

hangars, offices, and one aircraft 

were swept away by seismic sea 

waves. For more than a year 

after the earthquake, aircraft operated out of the city airport 

while waterfront facilities were 

being rebuilt. 

KENAI PENINSULA 

Most of the airstrips on the 

Kenai Peninsula were damaged 

by vibration, surficial settlement, 

and tectonic subsidence. Parts 

of the Seldovia airstrip had to 

be built up as much as 4-5 feet, 

at an estimated cost of $600,000, 

to raise the strip above tide level 

(fig. 4). Runways at Ninilchik, 

Kenai, Soldatna, and Hope sustained minor cracks. The airport 

at Homer was undamaged, but 

new construction work there was 

delayed, and made more costly, 

when the once-ample source of 

gravel on Homer Spit became 

difficult to obtain because of tectonic subsidence and consolidation of the spit materials. The 

only undamaged airstrip on the 

Kenai Peninsula was the one at 

Lawing. 
B6 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

SEWARD 

Some ground cracks formed on 

the gravel-surfaced runway at 

Seward, and the runway drainage 

system required repair. Several 

planes on the field were smashed 

by waves. Regional subsidence, 

aided by compaction of deltaic 

sediments at the head of Resurrection Bay, led to partial submergence of the Seward airstrip 

by high tides. The control tower, 

which had been put out of commission by waves and the general 

power failure, was reestablished 

by noon of March 28, 1964, operating on batteries. It was desperately needed, for aircraft provided the only means of 

movement in and out of Seward 

for some days (Fay, 1964; 

Lemke, 1967). 

WHITTIER 

The 2,200-foot northeast-trending airstrip at Whittier was 

severely damaged and became 

unusable after the earthquake. 

The airstrip lies on deltaic deposits 

at the head of Passage Canal 

nearly a mile west of Whittier. 

The eastern 500 feet of the strip 

was constructed on fill that extended into Passage Canal. 

During the earthquake, the end 

of this 500-foot section slid into 

the canal. In addition, regional 

subsidence, differential compaction of the fill, and landslideThe shipping industry is indispensable to Alaska, because 

fully 90 percent of all civilian and 

military requirements must be 

imported, nearly all by water. 

Fisheries, moreover, constitute the 

State's largest single industrygenerated waves severely damaged 

the part of the fill section that did 

not slide in to Passage Canal. 

The loss of 500 feet of airstrip 

was great enough to prevent use 

of the strip by other than small 

single-engine aircraft (Kachadoorian, 1965). 

OTHER AIRPORTS 

Small airstrips at Chitina, Portage, Palmer, and Thompson Pass 

and the South Campbell strip at 

Anchorage had minor cracks in 

the runways. Airstrips. at Talkeetna, Gakona, Gulkana, Tazlina, and Wasilla were not 

damaged. 

Yakutat airport, situated on 

a glacial-outwash plain some 280 

miles east of the earthquake epicenter, sustained minor damage 

to the concrete runways and 

ramp as a result of differential 

movement of the slabs during 

the shaking. Long-period ground 

waves also caused minor damage 

to two huge sliding hangar doors 

weighing several tons, each of 

which rolled back and forth, 

banging against the hangar sides. 

A few small cracks also were 

found in the gravel runway of the 

Yakataga airport about half way 

between Yakataga and the earthquake epicenter. 

The strip at Girdwood, on Turnagain Arm, was subjected to tidal 

SHIPPING 

all of it dependent on water transport, from movement of catch and 

supplies to canneries to final export of the product. 

The earthquake inflicted enormous damage on the water-transportation industry. In all southflooding by the tectonic subsidence 

and compaction of the sediments 

(Federal Aviation Agency, 1965). 

Air-navigation aids at nearby 

Portage and at Hinchinbrook 

Island in Prince William Sound 

required restoration. At Valdez, 

the runway and parking areas were 

cracked and required grading, but 

remained in usable condition. 

The Federal Aviation Agency's 

dock at Woody Island, near 

Kodiak, was so d am a g e d by 

seismic sea waves that it had to 

be replaced. The airstrip at Afognak in the Kodiak Island group 

was inundated repeatedly by 

waves, and several hundred feet 

of it was permanently flooded as 

a result of tectonic subsidence and 

surficial compaction. A new airstrip was built at the new town of 

Port Lions on Kodiak Island 

where the former inhabitants of 

Afognak were relocated. Gnivelled airstrips at Old Harbor and 

Ouzinkie were partly submerged 

by tectonic subsidence and local 

differential compaction of the sediments. They were later repaired 

and somewhat enlarged by filling 

and resurfacing. 

In all, the Federal Aviation 

Agency inspected 64 airports 

throughout the stricken area. Of 

these, 13 had sustained runway 

and taxiway damage, including 

broken underground cables 

(Federal Aviation Agency, 1965). 

central Alaska, only the port at 

Anchorage remained operational, 

and even it was temporarily incapacitated and was restricted m 

its operations for some time. 

Damage to port facilities at 

Anchorage, Seward, Valdez, 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B7 

Homer, Kodiak, Cordova, Whittier, and Seldovia amounted to 

about $30 million. This figure 

includes private and public docking facilities only, and not such 

waterside facilities as canneries. 

Damage to these facilities was 

due to submarine landslides and waves generated by 

them, seismic sea waves, compaction of sediments, and regional 

subsidence. 

Whittier, Seward, and Valdez 

are the only all-weather ice-free 

ports in Alaska that have access 

to the interior of the State. 

Whittier and Seward are terminals 

for The Alaska Railroad and Valdez for the Alaska Highway. 

Anchorage is not an ice-free port 

and until the earthquake was 

only used during the summer 

months. The destruction of the 

Whittier, Seward and Valdez ports 

therefore created a serious problem in the movement of supplies, 

food, and material to the interior 

of the State. Sitka, on Baranof 

Island, was the only port in 

southeast Alaska that reported 

significant damage. Docks and 

other harbor structures there were 

struck by seismic sea waves, and 

about $1 million in damage 

was done. 

No large vessels were destroyed 

though some had narrow escapes. 

In general, vessels at sea were undamaged, but a few experienced 

bumps that felt to the crews as if 

thkir ships had run aground. A 

few free-floating small boats were 

capsized and sunk. Most of the 

boats that were lost, however, 

were tied up at docks, were in 

small-boat harbors where they 

were engulfed by giant waves, or 

were involved in the submarine 

slides that destroyed several ports. 

When the earthquake struck, 820 

vessels of more than 5 tons and 

2,850 smaller boats were operating 

in south-central Alaska (Office of 

Emergency Planning, 1964). Of 

these, more than 200 vessels, most 

of them crab or salmon boats, 

were lost or severely damaged. 

Many seafood-processing plants 

were washed away or flooded. 

EFFECT ON ECONOMIC 

PATTERN 

One of the most far-reaching 

and long-lasting effects of the 

earthquake was the change that it 

wrought in the economic pattern 

of water and rail transport. Despite the fact that Anchorage 

is Alaska's largest city, its port 

business had always been relatively small as compared to that 

of several smaller cities. The 

municipally owned port facilities, 

in fact, had operated at a loss ever 

since they were built in 1961. 

The earthquake resulted in an 

enormous increase in Anchorage 

port facilities and commerce, and 

resultant decreases in traffic at the 

ports of Seward and Whitter and 

a parallel decrease in revenues for 

The Alaska Railroad. Weekly 

van-ship service was initiated from 

Seattle to Anchorage within a few 

months after the earthquake, and 

later experience showed that these 

larger vessels could surmount the 

ice problems that had previously 

kept Anchorage from being considered an all-weather port (Anchorage Daily Times, March 26, 

1965). 

Major changes in the economy 

of the region were also effected 

when petroleum-produc t terminals 

at Whittier and Seward were 

moved permanently to Anchorage. 

The Alaska Steamship line, one of 

the major cargo carriers between 

Seattle and Alaska, stopped calling 

at Seward and moved its operations to Whittier. 

Devastated as it was by loss of 

boats, gear, and canneries, the seafood industry also underwent major changes that could only lead 

to its betterment over the long 

term. Immediately after the 

earthquake, salmon and crab 

catches at Kodiak and elsewhere 

were curtailed, not so much by 

loss of boats as by lack of processing capacity. Most seafood-processing plants were rebuilt 

promptly, however, and equipped 

with more modern machinery than 

they had had before. Floating 

canneries were introduced. Unlike property owners on land, few 

of whom had earthquake insurance, nearly all owners of vessels 

were covered by marine insurance; 

claims were paid promptly. The 

U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Small Business 

Administration lent money on 

easy terms for replacements of 

boats and processing plants. The 

Congress also authorized direct 

subsidies of as much as 55 percent 

for new fishing vessels. The net 

results were that the seafood 

industry obtained modern boats 

and better equipment and that 

debts were refunded at lower 

interest rates (U.S. Bureau of 

Land Management, 1964). 

NAVIGATION AIDS 

Many lights, buoys, tide gages, 

and other navigation aids were 

wrecked or displaced by waves, 

not only in the devastated harbors 

but along virtually all of the 

coastline of south-central Alaska. 

These aids were replaced quickly 

by the Coast Guard, the Navy, 

the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 

and other responsible agencies. 

The Cape Hinchinbrook Light 

Station, on the southwest tip of 

Hinchinbrook Island in Prince 

William Sound, was severely shaken and two landslides were activated along the bluff on which 

the light is built, but the station 

remained in operation. The slides 

were but two more episodes in 
B8 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 2 7, 19 64 

a long history of cliff erosion on 

Cape Hinchinbrook, and one of 

the few directly beneficial effects 

of the earthquake of 1964 was to 

raise the base of the cliff some 8 

feet and thereby retard the erosion 

process. (Reuben Kachadoorian 

and George Plafker, written 

commun., 1965.) 

The tectonic uplift that affected most of the Prince William 

Sound area resulted in shoaling 

of waters that had been navigable 

before the earthquake (fig. 1); 

during the first weeks after the 

quake some small craft were 

grounded or damaged by hidden 

rocks or were stranded by low 

tides. At least one cannery in 

the area of uplift-the Crystal 

Falls cannery at Mountain 

Slough, not far from Cordovabecame inaccessible to fishermen 

and was declared a total loss 

(Alaska Dept. Fish and Game, 

1965). 

Tectonic subsidence in the westerly part of the earthquake-affected zone, especially around Kodiak 

Island and along Cook Inlet and 

the Kenai Peninsula, of course 

resulted in deeper water (fig. 1). 

This deeper water in itself would 

not have affected navigation adversely, but the subsidence also 

drowned old and familiar shorelines and at least locally, as in 

Turnagain Arm, led to increased 

sedimentation. The net result 

of subsidence, therefore, was a 

relatively large area of new and 

uncharted water. 

Within hours after the earthquake, the U.S. Coast and 

Geodetic Survey began the difficult but essential job of recharting all navigable waterways in 

the area affected by the earthquake and replacing tide gages 

that had been destroyed. It also 

began a long-term geodetic resurvey of permanent horizontal 

and vertical changes that had 

taken place along shorelines and 

on land. 

The Coast and Geodetic 

Survey's rapid revision of nautical charts was accomplished by 

ship reconnaissance, tidal surveys, and aerial photogrammetry. 

The resulting chart revisions, 

showing significant changes in 

channels, shoal areas, shorelines, 

and navigation aids were issued 

as "chartlets," designed to be 

pasted over parts of existing 

charts. These chartlets were upgraded as new information from 

more precise surveys became available. The firs t preliminary 

chartlets that were issued to navigators less then a month after the 

earthquake showed the harbors of 

Crescent City, Calif., and of 

Valdez, Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, 

and Womens Bay on Kodiak 

Island; chartlets of Fire Island 

shoal in Cook Inlet and the 

harbors at Anchorage and Homer 

soon followed. By the end of 

1964, revised editions of seven 

nautical charts had been issued 

and many others, covering most 

of the earthquake-affected area, 

were made available during the 

next 2 years (Wood, 1966). 

ANCHORAGE 

The Anchorage harbor is on 

Cook Inlet, just north of the 

mouth of Ship Creek. Port facilities, though incapacitated for a 

short time, were almost undamaged in contrast to all other ports 

in the earthquake-affected area. 

Tectonic subsidence was too small 

to do much damage, there were no 

waves or fires, and the bluffs 

above the port were not affected 

by the disastrous translatory landslides that wrecked several other 

parts of Anchorage (Hansen, 1965). 

Virtually all the damage to port 

structures was caused by earthquake vibrations and by related 

ground fractures and mnsolidation 

and settlement of sediments. 

The municipally owned Anchorage wharf is the largest port structure (fig. 5). It consists of two 

adjacent reinforced-concrete docks 

on concrete-filled tubular piles. 

The joint between the two docks 

was opened 4-12 inches; all four 

cranes were shaken off their 

tracks, and their undercarriages 

and counterweight arms IV e r e 

damaged. The steel-frame transit shed was cracked and twisted 

but only to a minor degree. Some 

steel piles broke at their caps; battered H -piles were sprung out of\ 

line when the main dock structure 

shifted its position (Berg and 

Stratta, 1964; Alaska Construction Consultant Committee, 1964). 

The so-called old Army Dock 

(fig. 5), a timber structure that 

was already much deteriorated, 

was made unusable for offloading 

of private and military petroleum 

supplies; a temporary petroleum 

dock was built to replace the old 

Army Dock, but it was severely 

damaged by ice and did not last 

through the following winter. Petroleum pipelines and approach 

roads and rail lines were broken 

or twisted by settlement and vibration. A cement bin, 30 feet 

high and 30 feet in diameter, collapsed on its pedestal. The walls 

of several petroleum storage tanks 

developed bulges at ground level. 

Berg and Stratta (1964) suggested 

that the bulges may have been 

caused by an earthquake-induced 

swirling of the tank contents, 

which in turn induced large vertical forces acting over a small zone 

at the base of the cylinder. 

The port was able to handle 

its first ship only 3 days after 

the earthquake. Within 2 years, 

both facilities and commerce were 

greatly increased over preearthquake times. 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B9 

5.-Anchorage municipal wharf area shortly after the earthquake, at low tide. The main dock was only slightly damaged, but 

tli.e lolder Army dock (upper left), was ruined. Vibration and ground fractures damaged some structures in the port area, 

including the petroleum tank (lower right). U.S. Army photograph. 
BlO ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

6.-Cordova harbor as it appeared in February 1965. Tectonic uplift left docks inaccessible to ships except at very high tides 

Reconstruction involved dredging of harbor and rebuilding of docks and small-boat basin. U. S. Army photograph. 

CORDOVA 

The Cordova area was raised 

about 6 feet by tectonic uplift, 

and the docks were thereby made 

inaccessible to ships except at 

very high tides. The deck of 

the main city dock was lifted 

and displaced by seismic sea waves 

and was battered by ships tied 

up to it. The ferry terminal dock 

was also damaged by waves, but 

these damages were insignificant 

as compared to the effect of 

regional uplift. 

The city dock, ferry slip, and 

breakwater were rebuilt and the 

small-boat basin and other parts 

of the harbor were dredged 10 

feet deeper by the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (fig. 6). 

Under an urban renewal plan, 

the entire waterfront was rebuilt 

with material dredged from the 

harbor for fill. Much of this 

work involved enlargement and 

improvement of existing facilities 

rather than replacement of damaged facilities (Alaskan Construction Consultant Committee, 1964; 

Anchorage Daily Times, March 

26, 1965). The Cordova canneries had to extend their docks an 

average of 110 feet to reach water 

depths equal to those which prevailed before the earthquake. 

Because of the uplift, Orca 

Inlet, which is the most direct 

waterway from Cordova to the 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES Bll 

open sea and the important Copper River Delta salmon-fishing 

and clamming areas, is too shallow for all but the smallest vessels at most stages of tide. The 

alternative route via Orca Bay 

and Hinchinbrook Entrance is 

much longer and considerably 

more hazardous. 

WHITTIER 

The port of Whittier is at the 

head of Passage Canal, a western 

arm of Prince William Sound 

(fig. 1). The town was originally 

constructed as a military railroad terminal, having been built 

during World War II to serve as 

a backup for Seward as a second 

all-weather railroad port. Town 

and port are owned by The Alaska Railroad and the Department 

of Defense, but some land is 

privately leased. 

Though many of Whittier's 

buildings, particularly those on 

bedrock, sustained but slight 

damage from seismic shock, the 

port facilities, which are on unconsolidated s(\diments, were so 

extensively damaged by the 

earthquake as to make them inoperable. In addition to seismic shock, other causes of damage were tectonic subsidence, 

ground fractures, differential 

subsidence due to compaction, 

landslides, great waves generated 

by submarine slides, and fire. 

Of these, the landslide-genera ted 

waves caused all loss of life and 

by far the greatest damage to 

port facilities. All docks were 

damaged or destroyed, a privately owned lumber mill was 

totally destroyed, and all the 

petroleum storage tanks along 

the waterfront were burned-but 

only after being severely damaged 

by seismic vibration and by waves 

(Kachadoorian, 1965). 

Despite the extensive damage, 

244-767 0---67--3 

the Whittier port facilities were 

back in operation in a remarkably short time, ready to aid in 

supplying the massive reconstruction effort elsewhere. The 

first train reached Whittier on 

April 20, was loaded at the partially Yepaired car slip, and returned to Anchorage. Regular 

weekly train-ship service, characterized by a 3-day trip between 

Whittier and New Westminster, 

B.C., began in June, less than 3 

months after the disaster. Not 

a little of the speed with which 

Whittier was brought back to 

life was due to close cooperation 

between The Alaska Railroad 

and several military entities. 

Thus, while the car slip was still 

under repair, the Army lent a 

floating crane, with maximum 

lift of 200,000 pounds, to lift cars 

and vans from barges. The Navy 

lent a 3,000-horsepower tug to 

move the crane from Beaver, 

Oreg.; it sailed April3 and arrived 

in Whittier April 13. The National Guard sent a tug from 

Seattle to service the crane (Fitch, 

1964). 

SMALLER PRINCE WILLIAM 

SOUND COMMUNITIES 

Several smaller communities 

and canneries in Prince William 

Sound sustained varying degrees 

of damage from tectonic uplift and 

from the local violent waves of unknown origin that accompanied 

and immediately followed the 

earthquake. Damage resulting 

from seismic shaking or from the 

long-period seismic sea waves that 

came later was negligible (Plafker 

and Mayo, 1965). 

Sawmill Bay on Evans Island in 

western Prince William Sound is 

the site of two operative canneries, 

one inoperative cannery in a poor 

state of repair, a fuel depot, and 

several permanent residences. 

Violent local waves that accompanied the earthquake in Sawmill 

Bay drowned one man, destroyed 

the dock of the inoperative cannery, partially damaged the fuel 

dock and several smaller docks, 

and wrecked two barges. Tectonic uplift of about 8 feet left fishing boats that had been stored on 

grids for the winter high above the 

reach of tides. The grid skid ways 

had to be extended and some modifications to dock facilities were required before the canneries could 

be put back into operation. 

Similar waves wiped out the entire native village of Chenega except for the school and one home 

and swept away 25 of its 76 inhabitants. All the minimal waterfront facilities and all but three of 

the boats belonging to the villagers 

were destroyed. The remaining 

population of Chenega has been relocated at Tatitlek; no repairs were 

made to the village site. 

Other similar, but much lower, 

waves were experienced almost 

simultaneously at the inoperative 

canneries at Port Nellie Juan and 

Port Oceanic in nearby parts of the 

Sound. The dock of the Port 

Nellie Juan cannery was washed 

away and the cannery watchman 

and his family of two are missing 

and presumably drowned. A cannery barge 25 feet wide by 60 feet 

long that was tied up at the mouth 

of a small creek near the cannery 

was lifted by violent local waves, 

turned over end for end, moved 

200 feet up the creek valley, and 

deposited upside down in the trees, 

15 feet above high-water level. 

Waves at Port Oceanic destroyed 

the dock and washed away foundation piling from beneath the cannery; one 27-foot fishing boat that 

was in the bay was sunk. 

At the native village of Tatitlek 

and the nearby inoperative 

Ellamar cannery, the waterfront 
B12 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

7.--New small-boat basin, excavated in end of Horner Spit. Former basin, on left side of the spit, was destroyed by a small offshore 

slide. The fact that the entire end of the spit ie submerged by high tides because of tectonic subsidence and compaction necessitates 

dikes around new basin. U.S. Army photograph. 

facilities were impaired by about 4 

feet of tectonic uplift; dredging 

and other improvements to the 

harbor area at Tatitlek by the 

Corps of Engineers have resulted 

in a harbor that is at least as good, 

if not better, than the preearthquake one. 

HOMER 

At Homer, at the mouth of 

Kachemak Bay on Cook Inlet 

(fig. 1), virtually all port facilities 

were put out of commission by 

tectonic subsidence, consolidation 

of sediments on Homer Spit, and 

an offshore landslide. 

The almost new small-boat 

basin was completely destroyed, 

the timber city dock was usable 

but had subsided 6 feet, and oil 

tanks and warehouses required 

raising to place them above water 

that flooded the spit at high tides. 

A new and larger small-boat basin 

(fig. 7) was constructed by the 

Corps of Engineers by excavation 

of a part of the spit (Alaskan 

Construction Consultant Cowmittee, 1964; Waller, 1 966c; 

George and Lyle, 1966). 

SEWARD 

Seward, at t.he head of Resurrection Bay on the east side 

of Kenai Peninsula (fig. 1), is a 

fisheries center, but its main 

importance in the economy is 

as the chief year-round port for 

The Alaska Railroad to Anchorage and Fairbanks. All Seward's 

port facilities were destroyed by 

submarine slides, giant waves, 

and fire. Because both highway 

and rail routes were disrupted 

between Anchorage and Seward, 

the port was cut off for some 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B13 

days from all means of communication and transportation except radio and air travel. 

Extensive geologic and soil 

studies of the fan delta on which 

Seward is built led to the conclusion that the new waterfront 

is unstable and subject to further 

submarine sliding in the event of 

future earthquakes. The decision 

was therefore made to rebuild 

the port elsewhere and to use 

the original waterfront area, under an urban renewal plan, only 

for parks and light industrial 

building. A new small-boat basin 

was built, and the main harbor 

facilities, dominated by The Alaska Railroad port terminal, were 

constructed on deltaic deposits 

at the mouth of Resurrection 

River, just north of the main 

town (fig. 8). The new site for 

the port required much dredging, 

but the chances of major submarine slides and the resultant 

waves are minimal (Lemke, 1967; 

George and Lyle, 1966). 

SELDOVIA 

Seldovia, a small fishing port 

near the southern end of the 

Kenai Peninsula, 1s the only 

8.-Part of ne\Y small-boat basin and nearly completed railroad dock at Seward, November 196.5. All former Seward waterfront 

facilities (to left of picture) were destroyed by submarine slides, waves, and fire. U.S. Army photograph. 

' 
B14 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

9.-Seldoviaat low tide in March 1965, with raised breakwater and small-boat baEin in use. Tectonic subsidence submerged boardwalk (curving structure at shore end of docks in foreground) at high tide. The boardwalk has been replaced on new fill. 

Urban rene,ml project will alter buildings and utilities to conform with higher water levels. U.S. Army photograph. 

protected harbor between Seward 

and Anchorage that can accommodate ocean vessels (fig. 1). 

Tectonic subsidence lowered the 

area about 3.5 feet so that most 

harbor facilities, including the 

mile-long boardwalk on which 

the business section of the town 

is built, were awash at high 

tides. The Corps of Engineers 

built a new breakwater, raised 

docks, and restored the smallboat harbor which had undergone subsidence and piling 

damage (fig. 9). An urban renewal plan was finally adopted 

to move the main town to higher 

ground, some of it to be made of 

fill as much as 02 feet thick 

(Alaskan Construction Consultant Committee, 1964; Anchorage Daily Times, March 26, 

1965). 

KODIAK AND KODIAK NAVAL 

STATION 

Kodiak, near the northeast tip 

of Kodiak Island (fig. 1), is the 

headquarters of one of the largest 

fishing fleets in Alaska. It is 

best known as the center of the 

king crab industry, but also produces large catches of salmon, 

halibut, shrimp, and scallop. The 

nearby Kodiak Naval Station is 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUN1CATIONS AND UTILITIES Bl5 

the largest U.S. Navy installation 

in Alaska for both surface vessels 

and aircraft. The naval station 

was moderately damaged by the 

earthquake and its aftereffects, 

but the port of Kodiak and much 

of the fishing fleet were devastated-almost entirely by seismic 

sea waves. Neither the town nor 

the naval station received more 

than mmor damage from 

vibration. 

At the naval station, several 

buildings that were set on piles 

without adequate ties were floated 

away. Flooding of the power 

station cut off power and central 

steam heat for the entire facility 

for some days. Seismic sea waves 

destroyed the Navy's cargo dock, 

already old and deteriorated, and 

severely damaged the fuel pier 

and three structures at the crash 

boat harbor. Waves caused 

moored ships to raise the bollards 

and to damage fendering. Sections of the decking were lifted 

and displaced by waves, and some 

piles, placed in holes augered to 

the rocky bottom, were uprooted. 

Regional subsidence added to the 

toll by causing tidal inundation 

of the dock's remains. The marginal pier, on the peninsula side 

of Womens Bay, sustained only 

minor damage from a moored 

barge (Stroh, 1964; Tudor, 1964). 

Tectonic subsidence left the 

Kodiak waterfront and the smallboat basin permanently subject to 

flooding by high tides. A temporary small-boat basin was established in Gibson Cove, between 

Kodiak and the naval station. 

It was used until the original 

basin had been rebuilt by the 

Corps of Engineers and its two 

submerged breakwaters had been 

raised 6 feet. 

Greatest damage to the naval 

station and to the port of Kodiak 

was caused by a series of gigantic 

seismic sea waves, some of them 

non-breaking, that began about 45 

minutes after the earthquake and 

continued far into the night. 

These waves destroyed or incapacitated all waterfront structures 

at Kodiak and inundated all of 

the lower part of the town. 

Scores of vessels were smashed 

or overturned and many were 

washed inland among flooded 

buildings as much as half a mile 

from the harbor (Plafker and 

Kachadoorian, 1966). 

The timber city doc·k and its 

warehouse subsided and sustained wave damage, but was 

partly usable. Privately owned 

petroleum storage tanks were 

undamaged, but their related 

piers and buildings were heavily 

damaged or destroyed (Alaska 

Construction Consultant Committee, 1964). The U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife pier and warehouse 

were swept away by receding 

waves. The decking of the pier 

was lifted from the piles and the 

approach decking floated away. 

Bulkheads and about 25 piles 

beneath the pier were destroyed. 

The harbormaster's building was 

destroyed when a large fishing 

vessel collided with it. N umerous small privately owned docks 

on Near Channel, Potatopatch 

Lake, Mission Lake, and Inner 

Anchorage were swept away by 

the waves. 

Of the four major seafood-processing plants, two were severely 

damaged and two were destroyed. 

Canneries at Shearwater Bay, 

south of Kodiak, and at Ouzinkie, 

north of the port, were also destroyed; the Shearwater cannery 

carried with it 30 salmon boats 

that had been in storage. Most 

canneries were rebuilt shortly 

after the earthquake, and floating 

canneries were brought in to add 

to the industry's capabilities. 

Docks and buildings at four other 

operative canneries within the 

zone of tectonic subsidence had 

to be raised above the new higher 

extreme high-tide level (Plafker 

and Kachadoorian, 1966). 

Docks at two small lumber 

mills near Afognak and Ouzinkie 

were also damaged by the seismic 

sea waves. 

A Navy seaplane tender was 

sent from Oak Harbor, Wash. 

Arriving on March 31, 1964, it 

immediately hooked its generators 

to naval station lines and supplied a part of the station's power 

needs for some days. The Navy 

also brought a dock landing ship, 

with a 160-foot pontoon dock 

from San Diego. It was lent to 

the city of Kodiak to help in 

rehabilitation of the fishing fleet 

(Kachadoorian and Plafker, 1967; 

Stroh, 1964; Tudor, 1964). 

VALDEZ 

Valdez is the northernmost allweather port in Alaska. Unlike 

Seward and Whittier, which are 

also all-weather ports, it is not 

a railhead but is connected 

with Fairbanks and the interior 

by highway. The town is on 

Port Valdez, the northeasternmost 

extension of Prince William 

Sound (fig. 1). 

All port facilities were destroyed 

by the earthquake (fig. 10). A 

gigantic submarine slide off the 

face of the delta on which Valdez 

is built was the single most disastrous event-it completely destroyed all docks and superstructures. Waves, ground cracks, 

shaking, and fire left all other 

port facilities and the seaward 

part of the town in ruins. 

Shortly after the earthquake, 

the Corps of Engineers built 

a temporary dock on the newly 

formed waterfront, primarily for 
B16 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

10.-0ld and new Valdez. All waterfront structures and utilities in old Valdez were destroyed (lower center). The new town" 

site (upper left) is protected from slides by chain of bedrock hills. U.S. Army photograph. 

offloading of supplies needed in 

rehabilitation of the town but 

also to permit the small commercial and sport-fishing industries to 

resume work. Meanwhile, the 

likelihood of further submarine 

slides and continued settlement 

along the waterfront, and the 

danger of flooding by the Valdez 

glacier stream that built the delta, 

led geologists to advise complete 

abandonment of Valdez. This 

advice was followed by town 

officials who decided to build 

a new town at Mineral Point, 

about 4 miles by road west 

of the devastated community. 

The new site is far less likely 

than the old to be damaged by 

future earthquakes, and the 

modern docks and ferry slip 

that will allow Valdez to resume its place among Alaskan 

ports are founded on bedrock 

that is not susceptible to underwater slides (figs. 10, 11; 

Coulter and Migliaccio, 1936). 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B17 

..,...,_ 

,-; .. \..._,_, -~- ... -

11.-Harbor facilities at new town of Valdez, winter 1966. Townsite is just to left of picture, behind protective bedrock hills. 

U.S. Army photograph. 
B18 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES 

To an extent that is seldom 

realized except when they are 

disrupted, modern man depends 

on public utilities and communications. All are necessary for his 

comfort and survival within his 

own community and for ties with 

other communities-water, sewage disposal, power and heat, and 

radio, telephone, and television 

communication. In Alaska's subarctic climate, reliable sources of 

heat and power are even more 

important than they are elsewhere. 

Communications facilities, too, 

are more vital in Alaska than 

elsewhere, for much of the population is thinly scattered and in 

poorly accessible places and also 

because Alaska itself is far removed from the rest of the 

United States. 

Virtually all utilities and communications in south-central 

Alaska were damaged or wrecked 

by the great earthquake. The 

total cost of damages to utility 

systems was initially estimated to 

be about $25 million (Alaska 

Construction Consultant Committee, 1964). This figure is small 

in comparison to the total cost of 

the earthquake, and fails to give 

a true picture of the emotional 

and physical effects wrought by 

disrupted utilities and communications during the recovery and 

rehabilitation periods. Predictably, utilities at Anchorage and 

its neighboring military establishments represented at least twothirds of the total losses. This 

high proportion was only because 

Anchorage is the largest community, with consequently greater 

development of utilities. Several 

other towns lost greater proportions of their utility systems than 

did Anchorage. 

Complete repairs and replacements required many months of 

effort, but essential services that 

sufficed to alleviate panic and 

suffering and to prevent disease 

that commonly follows on disruption of utilities were restored in a 

short time. This fast restoration 

was due to the prodigious cooperative efforts of the utility suppliers, 

both private and public, working 

in conjunction with the military 

and civilian authorities (U.S. 

Army Alaskan Command, 1964). 

Because they tend to be widespre!id geographically, rather than 

confined to single towns, the 

communications system, the oiland gas-distribution facilities, and 

the power systems are described 

separately. These generalizations 

are followed by descriptions of the 

effects on all utility systems in 

certain towns. 

COMMUNICATIONS 

SYSTEMS 

South-central Alaska has a 

well-developed communications 

system-telephone, radio and televisiOn. Because of the great land 

and water distances and the 

mountainous terrain, greater dependence is placed on radio and 

radiotelephone facilities than elsewhere in the United States. 

Most telephone lines are above 

ground, though in parts of 

Anchorage and in some of the 

rugged mountains both military 

and civilian lines are in buried 

cables. Nearly all telephone 

communications were disrupted 

by loss of power soon after the 

onset of the earthquake. In a few 

places, services were restored 

almost immediately by use of 

batteries or other auxiliary power 

units. Elsewhere, however, central stations were severely shaken 

or were wrecked by waves and 

other aftereffects of the earthquake shocks. 

Overhead lines, both power 

and telephone, sustained much 

damage from the shaking. 

Tautened wires broke in tension. 

Utility poles were subject to 

the same whipping action as 

trees, but because they were less 

resilient a greater proportion of 

them were broken. Other poles 

survived the shaking itself but 

were brought down by avalanches 

or landslides. Still others, as in 

Turnagain Arm, were wrecked 

when the silt in which they were 

placed shifted on the sea bottom 

(figs. 12, 13). 

Despite the widespread damages and a great variety of problems, most telephone systems 

were fully or partially restored 

to service within a few hours of 

the earthquake. 

Nearly all commercial and 

military radio and television 

communications went off the 

air immediately as a result of 

power failures. While power 

was being restored, they were 

replaced temporarily by a fantastic patchwork of amateur 

radios in Alaska and the conterminous United States, mobile 

broadcast units, and short-wave 

transmitters in ships, taxis, 

parked planes, police cars, and 

many other vehicles and places. 

These means served well in reestablishing contacts with isolated communities and with the 

outside world, in getting relief 

and reconstruction underway, 

and in preventing panic. 

Firefighting organizations and 

their equipment remained intact 

m all the earthquake-affected 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B19 

12.-Power and telephone poles along Turnagain Arm were tipped when the silt 

in which they were embedded was liquefied by earthquake vibrations. Photograph by Chugach Electric Association, Inc. 

13.-Some power-transmission poles on Turnagain Arm were destroyed by liquefaction of silt founrl.ation and by floating ice. Photograph by Chugach Electric 

Association, Inc. 

towns, but disruption of water 

supplies made them virtually useless in Seward, Valdez, and Whittier, where large waterfront fires 

developed; they would also have 

been helpless in Anchorage had 

there been fires. The readiness 

of all fire departments was also 

hampered by difficulties in communications (National Board of 

Fire Underwriters, 1964). 

POWER SYSTEMS IN ANCHORAGE, THE MATANUSKA VALLEY, AND ON THE 

KENAI PENINSULA 

In the general vicinity of Anchorage, electric power'is provided 

from four sources-(1) a cityI)Wned steam generating system, 

(2) military-operated steamplants 

that serve Fort Richardson and 

Elmendorf Air Base, (3) the 

Bureau of Reclamation's Eklutna 

hydroelectric project, serving Palmer, the Matanuska Valley, parts 

of Anchorage, and (4) the Chugach 

Electric Association's hydro- and 

steam-power generation system 

serving part of Anchorage and 

most communities on the Kenai 

Peninsula (fig. 1). 

All these systems were damaged, 

some severely, by the earthquake 

of March 27, 1964. Though disastrous and expensive, the powersystem failures were fortunate in 

some ways. The fact that power 

was shut off immediately in Anchorage, for example, is widely 

credited for the almost complete 

lack of fires there. Virtually all 

of the damage to transmission 

lines was of the kind ordinarily 

expected during Alaskan winters, 

but damage was more widely 

scattered geographically and far 

more concentrated in time than 

usual. These conditions made repair work much more difficult and 

costly than normal, even though 

most of the maintenance problems 

were familiar ones. 
B20 

Earthquake damages to the 

Eklutna hydroelectric system, 

caused almost entirely by ground 

vibration and related cracks and 

subsidence, are described by 

Logan (1967). 

The military powerplants at 

Fort Richardson and Elmendorf 

Air Base use coal-fired steam turbines. Both systems sustained 

much structural damage from seismic vibration. Tanks, piping, 

and other equipment were distorted or broken by twisting, overturning, or failure of supports. 

Despite the widespread damages, 

central heating for the military 

bases was maintained vvith almost 

no interruption, and power was 

restored to large parts of both 

bases within 24 hours (Powers, 

1965; U.S. Army Alaskan Command, 1964; Stephenson, 1964). 

Parts of Anchorage, including 

the heavily damaged Turnagain 

Heights section, and most of the 

Kenai Peninsula are served power 

by the Chugach Electric Association, a cooperative financed by 

the Rural Electrification Administration. Much of the rather 

complex integrated system was 

heavily damaged by the earthquake, but ties with other power 

sources and close cooperation of 

all suppliers, military and civilian, resulted -in restoration of 

power to most of the affected areas 

within a very few days. 

Principal units of the Chugach 

system are the Knik Arm coalfired steamplant near the mouth of 

Ship Creek in Anchorage, the 

Bernice Lake gas turbine plant 

just north of Kenai (fig. 1 ), and the 

Cooper Lake hydroelectric plant. 

The Cooper Lake generating plant 

is actually on the south shore of 

Kenai Lake, but it drops water 

from nearby Cooper Lake through 

a mile long tunnel and a penstock. 

The Knik Arm and Bernice Lake 

plants produce some steam for 

ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

local distribution in addition to 

electricity. Bernice Lake supplies 

power to several communities on 

the Kenai Peninsula, including 

Homer, which also has a dieselelectric generating plant. Seward 

is served power from Cooper I~ake. 

Except !or vibration damage to 

turbine blades at Bernice Lake, 

neither this nor the Cooper Lake 

plant was seriously injured. Failure of the power system in 

the Anchorage area overloaded 

the entire transmission network 

and caused automatic overload 

switches to trip at the other generating plants. Because Anchorage 

was closer to the epicentral region 

in northern Prince William Sound, 

failures there occurred an estimated 

15-20 seconds before the tremors 

were first felt at the Bernice Lake 

plant; this time lapse was enough 

to allow the plant operator to shut 

off the power before the potentially damaging vibrations reached 

the plant. The Knik Arm plant, 

however, was severely shaken, and 

coal bunkers, ash handling system, 

and other structural elements were 

either weakened or destroyed. 

The most serious damage was not 

noticed until 2 weeks after the 

earthquake when high tides made 

apparent the fact that tectonic 

subsidence and local compaction 

had lowered the mouth of Ship 

Creek. Sea water flooded the 

cooling pond and the ash aisle in 

the basement of the plant. 

Damages to the Chugach distribution system were less severe 

than to the generating plants but 

were nevertheless substantial. 

About 50 poles broke and 25 

transformers were dropped to 

the ground. Underground lines 

and several substations m 

downtown Anchorage were destroyed by landslides (Chugach 

Electric Assoc., 1964). 

In Palmer and the surrounding 

Matanuska Valley, northeast of 

Anchorage, power outage lasted 

for 18 hours. The distribution 

system itself was undamaged, but 

the transmission line from the 

Eklutna plant was downed by 

an avalanche near the Knik 

River (Logan, 1967). 

Automatic vibration controls 

reacted to the first earthquake 

shocks to shut down the 

Anchorage municipal gas-turbine 

plant. The plant itself survived 

in good condition, but breaks 

in the gasline cut off the fuel 

supply. Six standby diesel generators were also inoperative because water-main breaks stopped 

the supply of cooling water. 

Some intermittent power was 

restored to the city within 

2~ hours after the earthquake, 

when the turbine plant was started 

with bottled gas and then converted to oil for fuel. Rupture 

of oil tanks, with consequent loss 

of fuel, caused further delays in 

delivery of firm power, but an 

emergency supply of oil from 

Elmendorf Air Base was used 

until the gaslines were repaired. 

As a result, power was restored 

to nearly all of Anchorage by 

midnight Sunday, March 29. 

The municipal power-distribution 

system, both aerial and underground, was almost undamaged 

except in the slide areas. Two 

substations were wrecked by 

slides and had to be relocated 

(Stephenson, 1964). 

Most substations sustained 

light to moderate damage from 

vibration. Transmission and distribution lines were disrupted 

in many places. In the Turnagain section and elsewhere in 

Anchorage, lines were broken by 

the gigantic translatory landslides 

that were the 1principal geologic 

effects of the earthquake there 

(Hansen, 1965). The transmission line along the north side 

of Turnagain Arm, particularly 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B21 

between Girdwood and Portage, 

was very severely damaged-13 

tower structures were destroyed 

and 60 others required extensive 

repairs. Most of the structures 

tipped or broke when the silt in 

in which they were embedded 

was liquefied by vibration, but 

later the tidal action and increased 

ice shove that resulted from tectonic subsidence of the area did 

further damage (figs. 12, 13). 

In the mountains, earthquaketriggered avalanches destroyed 

several towers on the line 

between Portage and Cooper 

Lake and between Cooper Lake 

and Seward (Chugach Electric 

Assoc., 1964). 

PETROLEUM AND NATURAL 

GAS FACILITIES 

Alaska depends as heavily as 

any other modern society on 

petroleum products and on natural 

gas for heat, power, and transportation. Most of the petroleum products used in Alaska are 

brought in by water from West 

Coast refineries or from fields in 

Cook Inlet and along its shores 

(fig. 1). Like all other watertransported goods, fuel supplies 

were disrupted and dislocated by 

destruction of most of the ports 

in south-central Alaska. In addition to water transport, however, 

three pipe lines play significant 

parts in transmission of petroleum 

and gas products; none of these 

was appreciably damaged. 

A single leak developed in the 

93-mile line that transmits natural 

gas from fields near Kenai to 

Anchorage. An 18-mile pipeline 

(not shown on fig. 1) transmits 

crude oil from wells on the Swanson River and Soldatna Creek, 

on the Kenai peninsula, to loading 

facilities at Nikishka on Cook 

Inlet. The line itself was unscathed but storage tanks at the 

terminal were slightly damaged. 

A few leaks also developed in 

storage tanks at a small refinery 

near Nikishka but they were easily 

repaired (Office of Emergency 

planning, 1 964). 

A military multiproduct pipeline, much of it above ground, 

extends 686 miles from Haines 

in southeastern Alaska, to Fairbanks. Roughly parallel to the 

Alcan Highway, it handles more 

military petroleum products than 

does the port of Anchorage. Far 

from the area of di;;;turbance, the 

pipeline was not damaged by the 

earthquake and service was not 

interrupted. Water wells at a 

few of the booster stations, however, were slightly damaged. 

Many storage tanks, notably 

in Anchorage, Seward, Valdez, 

and Kodiak, developed leaks from 

earthquake vibration or were totally destroyed by waves or fire. 

Quick repairs to tank farms, and 

early resumption of water transport for fuel supplies, prevented 

development of critical shortages 

of petroleum products. 

Many homes and businesses 

throughout the stricken area depend on individual bottled-gas 

units for heating. Fortunately, 

very few of these installations 

were damaged outside the areas 

of total destruction caused by 

waves, fires, and landslides. 

Piped natural gas is available 

only in Anchorage and several 

small towns near Kenai. The 

damages to this system, and the 

methods used to restore service, 

are well documented by Stump 

(1965), from whose paper most 

of the following information is 

abstracted. 

The natural gas used by Anchorage is produced from the Kenai 

field near Kalifonsky Beach on 

Cook Inlet. It is supplied by the 

privately owned Anchorage Natural Gas Corp. and its sister organization, The Alaska Pipeline Co. 

A 12-inch pipeline, 93 miles 

long, brings gas to Anchorage 

(fig. 1). Much of the line is 

in rugged country that is accessible only by tracked vehicles or 

by air. There are three airstrips 

along the right-of-way, which is 

itself cleared to permit use of 

helicopters. The 8-mile-long segment across Turnagain Arm, 30 

miles south of Anchorage, has 

parallel pipelines that are embedded in the silt of the Arm. The 

earthquake caused little damage 

to the underwater line, but tectonic subsidence in the area necessitated raising the automatic 

control valves above the new 

high-tide levels. Only one small 

but potentially serious break occurred in the entire pipeline. 

This one, doubtless caused by 

ground vibration, was at milepost 

55 and consisted of a circumferential crack next to a weld in 

the pipe. Access was difficult 

but, once reached, the break was 

easily and quickly repaired. 

Damages to the 120-mile-long 

gas-distribution system within 

Anchorage amounted to nearly 

$1 million, a heavy blow to a 

company that was less than 3 

years old and was just beginning 

to reach financial stability. 

Nevertheless, there was far less 

damage to this entirely new 

system whose components were 

all designed and constructed to 

modern code specifications than 

there would have been to old or 

poorly built equipment. As 

would be expected, most major 

breaks in the distribution system 

occurred at landslide grabens 

\Yhere near-surface materials 

moved both laterally and vertically (Hansen, 1965). Some of 

the more than 200 breaks in 

gaslines, however, were caused 

by ground cracks which had 

little or no visible displacement. 

Steel and copper pipes reacted 
B22 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

similarly to the earthquake forces. 

Some lines failed in compression 

or tension; others failed by shear 

or by repeated flexing (fig. 14). 

In Anchorage, the highpressure gas main was broken 

by the landslide at Third A venue 

and Post Road, near the Alaska 

Native Hospital (fig. 15). A 

second break in the main was 

caused by a slide near the Municipal Power and Light Plant 

on Ship Creek. This slide ruptured fuel tanks and flooded the 

area with 300,000 gallons of 

diesel fuel. 

The making of repairs was 

greatly aided by the loan of 

experts from several natural-gas 

companies in the Pacific Northwest; priorities were given to the 

city powerplant, hospitals, restaurants, and laundries, in that 

order. Gas service was restored 

to the municipal powerplant 

within 30 hours after the earthquake, a remarkable accomplishment considering that temporary lines had to be laid on 

steep slopes and on a surface 

that was covered by ice and by 

a thick layer of diesel oil. The 

city's two gas-fired turbines furnished most of the electric power 

for Anchorage for some weeks. 

Gas became available. in homes 

and businesses in Spenard and 

the southern part of Anchorage 

within 48 hours, and 90 percent 

of the entire system was restored within 2 weeks after the 

earthquake. 

During the spring and summer 

of 1964, and after all known leaks 

had been repaired and service 

restored, the company made a 

novel use of geologic maps. The 

ground in Anchorage was frozen 

to depths of 6 feet or more at the 

time of the earthquake, and buried pipes could not move or adjust 

to stresses except at ground 

breaks. The p1pes therefore 

14.-Buried gaslines ruptured by earthquake forces. Above, in tension; below, 

in compression. Photographs by W. J. Stump. 

15.-Twelve-inch gas main, supplying fuel for municipal powerplant, was ruptured by landslide at Third Avenue and Post Road, Anchorage. Photograph by 

W. J. Stump. 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B23 

required relief from stresses imposed by the earthquake, because 

these stresses, plus those that 

would be imposed by future thawing and frost action, would undoubtedly cause additional failures 

in the system. 

All excavations where repairs 

had been performed on gas, sewer, 

and water lines were mapped by 

the gas company, and the assumption was made that stresses had 

been relieved in these areas. 

Maps prepared by the Engineering Geology Evaluation Group 

(1964) were then used in conjunction with the company's accurate 

as-built maps and records of its 

distribution system. By studying the two sets of maps, about 50 

places were identified where earthquake-caused ground fractures 

meant that there must be residual stresses in the gaslines. At 

the center of each such area the 

line was exposed and cut. Some 

pipes were under such tension that 

the cuts opened as much as 2 

inches; elsewhere compressive 

forces shortened the pipes. Successive exposures and cuts in the 

lines were then made at 50-foot 

intervals away from the origins 

until points were reached where 

cuts resulted in no movement of 

the pipes. The same method was 

used for the transmission line. 

The entire line was examined by 

helicopter traverse. Wherever 

ground cracks were observed to 

cross the line, excavations were 

made to allow the pipe to move 

and thus relieve residual stresses. 

ANCHORAGE 

Much of the following information on Anchorage public utilities 

is taken from Stephenson's report 

(1964). 

Except for radio and television, 

which were interrupted only because of lack of electric power, 

all public-utility systems in Anchorage were affected similarly 

by the earthquake but in somewhat varying degrees. All utilities that depended on underground transmission or distribution-telephone, water, sewer, 

power, and gas-were disrupted 

when lines were broken by landslides and earth fissures. 

Anchorage and the nearby military posts obtain water by diversions from Ship Creek and from 

a few deep wells. There are also 

some shallow private wells, mainly 

in the suburbs. In order to take 

advantage of the extra heat available in ground water, the wells 

are used more extensively in 

winter than in summer. 

The earthquake caused moderate damage to the city treatment 

plant, and several of the wells 

were destroyed by ground movements. Ground-water levels 

dropped temporarily and water 

from many wells was muddy. 

The Ship Creek supply was cut 

off for a short time when an 

avalanche blocked the stream 

above the diversion points, but 

water was restored to the system 

when the temporary dam was 

overtopped and cut through by 

natural streamflow (Waller, 

1966b). 

By far the greatest damage to 

the Anchorage water system was 

in the distribution system, where 

ground fractures and landslides 

broke pipes in nearly 100 places. 

All types of pipe were affected 

by these ground movements. 

Immediately after the earthquake 

the delivery rate nearly quadrupled because of the numerous 

breaks in the lines. It was necessary to shut off the supply 

completely and to repair it 

section by section. 

Service was restored to more 

than half of Anchorage within 

the first 5 days, and most of the 

city had water within 2 weeks. 

Much of the repair work was of 

a temporary nature. Firehose 

and portable pumps and chlorinators were used first, but these 

were soon replaced in the Turnagain and port areas, and to 

a lesser extent elsewhere, by aluminum irrigation pipe laid on the 

surface and connected to dwellings with garden hoses. Completion of more permanent repairs 

to the underground systems required many months, in part 

because of the havoc caused by 

landslides in parts of the city 

and in part by the necessary 

delays for exploration of the slide 

areas and for planning how they 

should be treated. (Alaska 

Depart. Health and Welfare, 

1964; Waller, 1966b; Stephenson, 

1964) .· 

Except for the Spenard area, 

which has a treatment plant, 

the Anchorage and nearby military sewage systems discharge 

untreated wastes directly to Knik 

Arm. Outfalls were damaged by 

earthquake vibration and required 

replacement. The underground 

systems, built primarily with concrete pipe, were broken by landslides, earth cracks, and vibration 

in a manner and in places similar 

to the breaks in the water-supply 

systems (Stephenson, 1964; Alaska Depart. Health and Welfare, 

1964). A portable television camera was used effectively to find 

breaks in the sewer lines (Burton, 

in Logan, 1967). 

The central telephone office 

in downtown Anchorage was severely shaken and fuses were 

blown. In the Alaska Communications System toll building 

on Government Hill, two 15-ton 

battery plants collapsed by 

shaking and caught fire, but the 

fire was quickly controlled. 
B24 

The aerial wire system, which 

serves most of Anchorage, sustained only minor damage 

except where poles were broken 

or dislodged by landslides. In 

contrast to underground powerlines, however, which were 

only slightly damaged, almost 

all of the 25-mile underground 

telephone-cable system in downtown Anchorage was put out 

of commission. Tension, caused 

by stretching of the ground incident to ground cracks and landslides, pulled the cables away 

from manhole connections. 

CORDOVA 

Utilities in the main residential 

area and business district of Cordova-a town built almost entirely on indurated bedrockwere unaffected by the tremors. 

Slight damage was sustained by 

utilities in the waterfront area, 

mainly as a result of shifting of 

the docks and piers on which the 

utilities were located and of inundation of low-lying areas. All 

utilities functioned continuously 

throughout the earthquake. 

Minimal damage resulted from 

tectonic uplift that left sewage 

outfalls above high tides (Office 

of Emergency Planning, 1964). 

Utilities at the Cordova airport 

which is on thick alluvial deposits 

13 miles from the town, were disrupted by vibration and ground 

fractures. Overhead powerlines 

were snapped by violent motions 

of their poles, and underground 

steam, water, and sewer pipes 

were broken and made inoperative 

by innumerable ground cracks. 

Cordova depends largely on 

diverted surface water for its 

water supply; but also has two 

deep standby wells. Earthquake damage to the distribution 

system and _to the sewer system 

was minimal except for the fracALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

turing of pipes in the waterfront 

area and at the airport. 

KODIAK 

Communications facilities at 

Kodiak Naval Station were hard 

hit. Except for Fleet Weather 

Central, which required less than 

5 minutes to convert to standby 

power sources, naval station communications were without power 

for some hours. Not only was 

the central powerplant inoperative, 

but 2% miles of line between the 

station and the radio transmitter 

had been washed out by waves. 

Generators for Operations Control 

and for the Tactical Air Command 

and Navigation centers were also 

damaged. 

In the town of Kodiak, the 

central telephone office was flooded, and the line to a long-distance 

radio-telephone transmitter atop 

Pillar Mountain was downed by 

earthquake shocks. Long-distance communications with the 

mainland were reestablished the 

morning after the quake, but for 

3 weeks the only local communications were supplied by a few 

portable field telephones and by 

short-wave radios in taxicabs and 

police vehicles. Within a month 

after the earthquake about 100 

telephone circuits had been restored (Tudor, 1964; National 

Board of Fire Underwriters, 1964; 

Kachadoorian and Plafker, 196 7) . 

The powerplant at Kodiak 

Naval Station was repeatedly 

flooded by waves and electricity 

and steam heat for the entire 

installation was cut off. Emergency generators on land and on 

a seaplane tender that was rushed 

from Whidby Sound, Wash. (Kasperick, 1964), supplied partial 

needs for power to the station for 

2 weeks while the main plant was 

being repaired. A massive power 

failure occurred in the town of 

Kodiak at 5:39 ± p.m. This failure was during the early phase of 

the seismic shaking. Automatic 

equipment in the Kodiak Electric 

Association generating plant made 

four unsuccessful attempts in 3 

seconds to reclose the circuits. 

Flashes were emanating from the 

plant, and the power failure resulted apparently from a short 

circuit at the generating plant 

rather than in the feeder or distribution line. Had the power 

failure not occurred before the 

first seismic sea wave struck the 

city of Kodiak, the inundating 

waves would undoubtedly have 

caused failure. 

Kodiak's water and sewage lines 

were cracked in a few places by 

earthquake vibration, but they 

sustained very little damage except in the lower part of town that 

was destroyed by seismic sea 

waves. Kodiak is served by two 

water reservoirs north of town. 

One of these was very slightly 

damaged by shaking and both 

reservoirs were closed for a few 

hours after the earthquake to conserve water for fighting fires that 

were expected but fortunately did 

not materialize. Service of untreated water was restored the day 

after the quake, and chlorination 

of water was restored on March 29 

(F. R. B. Norton and J. E. Haas, 

written commun., 1966; Alaska 

Depart. Health and Welfare, 

1964). 

The Kodiak sewage system was 

affected similarly to the water distribution system; that is, it sustained only minor damage except 

near the waterfront where it was 

severely damaged. Tectonic submergence of the shoreline (Kachadoorian and Plafker, 1967) lowered the sewage pumping station 

to such an extent that it had to be 

replaced. 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES B25 

SEWARD 

Submarine slides an!f giant 

waves destroyed Seward's port 

facilities, including utility systems 

near the waterfront. In addition, 

vibration and ground fractures 

disrupted water and sewer lines in 

many other parts of town and in 

suburban Forest Acres (Lemke, 

1967). 

Seward is served power by the 

Chugach Electric Association from 

its Cooper Lake hydroelectric 

plant; transmission-line damages 

disrupted the service. Temporary restoration of part of the power 

was effected in May 1964 by the 

installation of small portable generators. The distribution system 

was repaired by November of the 

same year, and a new standby city 

powerplant (fig. 16) was completed 

in 1965 (Lemke, 1967; office of 

Emergency Planning, 1964; 

Chugach Electric Assoc., Inc., 

1964). The Seward telephone 

system was completely disrupted 

for a few hours, and service was 

spasmodic for some weeks after 

the earthquake. Batteries were 

used early in the emergency period, but portable generators were 

installed later (National Board of 

Fire Underwriters, 1964). 

Seward obtains most of its 

water by diversion from Jap and 

Marathon Creeks, and it also 

had four deep wells. Three of 

the wells were put out of operation by earthquake shaking, but 

the surface supplies survived 

with only minor damage. Both 

water and sewer lines sustained 

breaks in many places throughout Seward and the suburban 

areas, and water service was cut 

off for periods ranging from 12 

hours to more than a week after 

the earthquake. These damages, 

however, were minor as compared 

to those in the port area, where 

all facilities, including water mains 

and sewage outfalls, were com16.-Emergency standby generators at Seward, August 1965. Seward normally receives power from Cooper Lake hydroelectric plant, but all power was cut off by the 

earthquake. U.S. Army photograph. 

pletely destroyed by submarine 

slides and waves (Lemke, 1967; 

Alaska Dept. Health and Welfare, 

1964). An emergency salt-water 

system that might have helped in 

controlling the subsequent fires 

was inoperable because its waterfront pump station was wrecked 

(National Board of Fire Underwriters, 1964). 

VALDEZ 

Before the earthquake, Valdez was served water from two 

deep wells close to the town. 

Neither the wells nor the elevated storage tank adjacent to 

them were damaged, but water 

and sewage lines throughout the 

town were broken by ground 

fractures in many places. Total 

destruction of the waterfront by 

a gigantic submarine slide of 

course wrecked waterlines and 

sewer outfalls completely in that 

area (Coulter and Migliaccio, 

1966). Local telephones remained in service, except for 

the strip along the waterfront. 

The powerplant, also, was undamaged. A few distribution 

lines fell, but the power supply 

was continuous to most parts 

of town except the waterfront 

(National Board of Fire Underwriters, 1964). Because of the 

decision to abandon the townsite 

and to rebuild Valdez elsewhere, 

only temporary repairs were made 

to the systems. 

Design and construction of 

modern underground utilities at 

the new townsite were based 

in part on knowledge of earthquake response of various materials gained by study of damages at Anchorage, old Valdez, 

and elsewhere. The principles of 

utilities design in an earthquakeprone region that is also subject 

to heavy snow cover and deep 

frost penetration are described by 

Poirot (1965). 
B26 

WHITTIER 

Most of Whittier's water is 

obtained by impoundment of Cove 

Creek, backed up by two drilled 

standby wells. These sources were 

not materially damaged by the 

earthquake, but the distribution 

system and the outfall sewer system were damaged extensivelyespecially in the port area-by 

shaking, ground fractures, and 

landslide-generated waves (Kachadom·ian, 1965; Alaska Depart. 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 

1965, Post-earthquake fisheries 

evaluation; an interim report on the 

March 1964 earthquake effects of 

Alaska's fishery resources: Juneau, 

Ala~ka, 72 p. 

Alaska Department of Health and Welfare, 1964, Preliminary report of 

earthquake damage to environmental health facilities and services 

in Alaska: Juneau, Alaska Dept. 

Health and Welfare Environmental 

Health Br., 45 p. 

Alaskan Construction Consultant Committee [1964], Reconstruction and 

development survey of earthquake 

damages in Alaska: Prepared for 

Federal Reconstruction and Devel. 

Plan. Comm. for Alaska, 98 p. 

Berg, G. V., and Stratta, J. L., 1964, 

Anchorage and the Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964: New 

York, Am. Iron and Steellnst., 83 p. 

Chugach Electric Association, Inc., 

1964, Survey of damage caused by 

the great Alaska earthquake: Anchorage, Alaska, 35 p., illus. and 

map. 

Coulter, H. W., and Migliaccio, R. R., 

1966, Effects of the earthquake of 

March 27, 1964, at Valdez, Alaska: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

542-C, p. C1-C36. 

Engineering Geology Evaluation Group, 

1964, Geologic report-27 March 

1964 earthquake in Greater Anchorage area: Prepared for Alaska 

State Housing Authority and the 

city of Anchorage, Anchorage, 

Alaska, 34 p., 12 figs., pis. 1-17. 

ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, MARCH 27, 1964 

Health and Welfare, 1964). A 

deep well at the head of Passage 

Canal was ruined by extrusion 

of the casing and well head as a 

result of differential compaction 

and by flooding of the site at high 

tides. 

The powerplant was shut down 

during the earthquake when two 

1 0-inch waterlines from the Cove 

Creek impoundment were broken. 

The plant was instantly switched 

to standby auxiliary generators 

which supplied emergency power 

REFERENCES CITED 

Fay, G. T., 1964, The big breakup: 

FAA [Federal Aviation Agency] 

Horizons, May 1964, p. 4-7. 

Federal Aviation Agency, 1965, Alaska 

takes on new look: FAA Horizons, March 1965, p. 14-15. 

Fitch, E. M., 1964, The Alaska Railroad meets its greatest challenge: 

Our Public Lands, v. 14, no. 1, 

p. 12-15. 

George, Warren, and Lyle, R. E., 1966, 

Reconstruction by the Corps of 

Engineers-methods and accomplishments, in Hansen, W. R., 

and others, The Alaska earthquake, 

March 27, 1964-Field investigations and reconstruction effort: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

541 [1967]. 

Hansen, W. R., 1965, Effects of the 

earthquake of March 27, 1964, 

Anchorage, Alaska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 542-A, p. 

A1-A68. 

Kachadoorian, Reuben, 1965, Effects 

of the earthquake of March 27, 

1964, at Whittier, Alaska: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 542-B, 

p. B1-B21. 

Kachadoorian, Reuben, and Plafker, 

George, 1967, Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, on the 

communities of Kodiak and nearby 

islands: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 542-F. (In press.) 

Kasperick, Dan, 1964, In the wake of 

Alaska's earthquake: All Hands 

[Bur. Naval Personnel Career Pub.], 

July 1964, p. 1D-14. 

for a period of 6 hours, until the 

main plant was put back into 

operation with water pumped 

through a firehose from Passage 

Canal. The powerplant itself, 

which is on a foundation of solid 

rock, was virtually undamaged by 

the earthquake. However, some 

of the feeder lines that were destroyed along the inundated waterfront area had to be either 

repaired or cut off the circuit 

before full power could be restored. 

Lemke, R. W., 1967, Effects of the 

earthquake of March 27, 1964, 

at Seward, Alaska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 542-E. 

(In press.) 

Logan, M. H., 1967, Effects of the 

earthquake of March 27, 1964, 

on the Eklutna hydroelectric project, Anchorage, Alaska, with a 

section on Television examination 

of earthquake damage to underground communication and electrical systems in Anchorage, by 

Lynn R. Burton: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 545-A. 

Miller, R. D., and Dobrovolny, Ernest, 

1959, Surficial geology of Anchorage and vicinity, Alaska: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Bull. 1093, 128 p. 

National Board of Fire Underwriters 

and Pacific Fire Rating Bureau, 

1964, The Alaska earthquake, 

March 27, 1964: San Francisco, 

Calif., distributed by Am. Insurance Assoc., 35 p. 

Office of Emergency Planning, 1964, 

Impact of earthquake of March 27, 

1964, upon the economy of Alaska: 

Prepared for Federal Reconstruction and Devel. Plan. Comm. for 

Alaska, 27 p. 

Plafker, George, 1965, Tectonic deformation associated with the 1964 

Alaska earthquake: Science, v. 

148, no. 3678, p. 1675-1687. 

Plafker, George, and Kachadoorian, 

Reuben, 1966, Geologic effects of 

the March 27, 1964, earthquake 

and associated seismic sea waves 
EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER TRANSPORT, COMMUN1CATIONS AND UTILITIES B27 

on Kodiak and nearby islands, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 543-D, 46 p. 

Plafker, George, and Mayo, L. R., 

1965, Tectonic deformation, subaqueous slides, and destructive 

waves associated with the Alaskan 

March 27, 1964, earthquake--an 

interim geologic evaluation: U.S. 

Geol. Survey open-file report, 21 p. 

Poirot, J. W., 1965, Utilities for a 

relocated town in Alaska: Civil 

Eng., v. 35, no. 3, p. 50-53. 

Powers, J. R., 1965, An engineering 

glimpse of the Alaskan earthquake: 

[U.S.] Air Force Civil Engineer, 

v. 6, February 1965, p. 2-5. 

Stephenson, J. M., 1964, Earthquake 

damage to Anchorage area utilities-March 1964: Port Hueneme, 

Calif., U.S. Naval Civil Eng. Lab. 

Tech. Note N-607, 17 p., 41 figs. 

Stroh, Alfred, Jr., 1964, Navy operations 

at Kodiak: Military Engineer, 

v. 56, no. 372, p. 254-255. 

Stump, W. J., 1965, Restoration of gas 

service after an earthquake: Pacific 

Coast Gas Assoc. Proc., v. 56, p. 

123-126. 

Tudor, W. J., 1964, Tsunami damage at 

Kodiak, Alaska, and Crescent City, 

California, from Alaska earthquake 

of 27 March 1964: Port Hueneme, 

Calif., U.S. Naval Civil Eng. Lab. 

Tech. Note N-622, 124 p. 

U.S. Army Alaskan Command, 1964, 

Operation Helping Hand-The 

Armed Forces react to earthquake 

disaster: Seattle, Wash., Alaskan 

Command Headquarters, 83 p. 

U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 

1964, Four-point program aims to 

rebuild fishing industry: Our Public 

Lands, v. 14, no. 1, p. 16-17. 

Waller, R. M., 1966a, Effects of the 

March 1964 Alaska earthquake on 

the hydrology of south-central 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 544-A, p. Al-A28. 

Waller, R. M., 1966b, Effects of the March 

1964 Alaska earthquake on the hydrology of the Anchorage area: U.S. 

Geol. Survey, Prof. Paper 544-B, 

p. B1-B18. 

---1966c, Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, in 

the Homer area, Alaska, with a 

section on Beach changes on Homer 

Spit by Kirk W. Stanley: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. P~per 542-D, 

28 p. 

Wood, F. J., ed., 1966, Operational 

phases of the Coast and Geodetic 

Survey program in Alaska for the 

period March 27 to December 31, 

1964, v. 1 of The Prince William 

Sound, Alaska, eartJ:lquake of 1964 

and aftershocks: U.S. Coast and 

Geodetic Survey Pub. 10-3, 263 p. 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1967-Q-244-767