Results of the 1964 Great Alaska and Tsunami Earthquake

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

Buckled Rails — Our #TBT today takes us back to 1964. This photo shows rails that were buckled by lateral movement of the embankment fill toward an underlying culvert which had collapsed. It was taken shortly after the March 27th, 1964 Great Alaska and Tsunami earthquake. The 9.2 earthquake occurred in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska. The earthquake lasted a full 4.5 minutes with its epicenter about 6 miles (10 km) east of the mouth of College Fiord.

This event helped confirm the theory of plate tectonics and provided firsthand insight on earthquake processes, tsunami generation, and the impacts of these phenomena on communities, both locally and across the Pacific. At several places in Port Valdez, Alaska, tsunami run-up was more than 100 feet. This great earthquake and ensuing tsunamis took 131 lives and caused about $2.3 billion in property loss (equivalent to $311 million in 1964).