Where this was said
The Tsunamis: 200-Foot Waves and Towns Destroyed in Minutes
At 15:10 · chapter starts 12:40
The earthquake itself was devastating, but it was the water that killed most people. Chuck notes that only about 15 Alaskans died from the earthquake directly — the majority of the 131 total fatalities came from the tsunamis that followed. The largest wave reached an estimated 200 feet in height, with effects felt as far south as California (killing 12 people there) and westward past Hawaii all the way to Japan [1] — Chuck "At Port Valdez, 32 people died, oil tankers caught fire and were swept out to sea on the tsunami, and the town itself was largely swallowed…" 14:35 . For the village of Chenega — home to just 68 people — there was almost no warning: a tsunami arrived just 4 minutes after the quake, killing 23 residents. The only building to survive was the schoolhouse, built on high ground 100 feet above sea level. At Port Valdez, 32 people perished as the tsunami swept the waterfront, oil tankers caught fire, and burning vessels were carried out to sea on the waves — a scene straight out of apocalyptic fiction. Soil liquefaction compounded the destruction, turning Valdez's sand-and-gravel foundation into liquid and swallowing structures whole.
The largest tsunami generated by the 1964 Alaska earthquake reached a wave height of approximately 200 feet, with its effects reaching as far south as California and westward to Japan.
The village of Chenega, home to 68 people, was struck by a tsunami just 4 minutes after the earthquake, killing 23 residents; only the schoolhouse built 100 feet above sea level survived.
At Port Valdez, 32 people died, oil tankers caught fire and were swept out to sea on the tsunami, and the town itself was largely swallowed as its sand-and-gravel foundation liquefied beneath it. The Army Corps of Engineers eventually relocated the entire town 4 miles away.
