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.
Where this was said
At 13:50 · 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.
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.
Joel de la Garza noted that the CISO role is a relatively recent invention, with Steve Katz widely credited as the first-ever CISO.
Superficial adoption of electricity gave factories only 6% efficiency gains; fully redesigning factories around it delivered a 3x productivity improvement that powered 20th-century US growth.
Harold Ramis recounted that during Caddyshack filming, storms kept the cast cooped up in a Florida hotel for days, during which they partied and did drugs all day and night.
In the 1820s, China accounted for 25% of global economic output, making it the world's largest economic machine — a historical precedent for its current AI superpower ambitions.
66 Americans held hostage at the US Embassy in Iran were released after 444 days, within hours of Reagan's inauguration.
In the first round of the secret arms deal, 508 TOW missiles were transferred from Israel to Iran in exchange for hostage releases.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran across 8 separate shipments over just over a year.
Despite all the missile sales, only 3 of the 7 American hostages held by Lebanese terrorists were ultimately released.
The CIA supply plane that blew open the scandal was flying at only 2,500 feet in broad daylight when it was shot down on October 5, 1986.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.