THE GREAT ALASKA EARTHQUAKE, VOLUME I
Abstract
The tremendous Alaska earthquake of March 1964 killed many people and caused property damage in the millions. Nevertheless this quake provided scientists and engineers with an almost unique opportunity to study the effects of so huge a natural phenomenon in a relatively urban and built-up environment. The coastal location of the quake's epicenter created a wide variety of temblor effects including crevasses or grabens, pressure ridges produced by landslides, and a broad spectrum of structural damage. The bays, inlets, harbors, and the seacoast for many hundreds of miles were inundated by powerful seismic sea waves (tsunamis). Such diverse effects suggested unlimited areas of study and evaluation. This technical report presents a general summary of all the effects catalogued above, and investigates in some detail the strengths and weaknesses of the many types of structures affected by the temblors. The volume of illustrations which supplement this report shows many details of structural damage, information that could be extremely useful to engineers, architects, contractors, city planners, and others who plan to erect structures on land known to be subject to earthquakes. All maps and illustrations are contained in Volume II (AD-627 020) of this report.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0627096
Entities
People
- Douglas H. Merkle
- Walter E. Fisher
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory