Posted: September 13th, 2022

Mass Wasting

For this week’s DB, locate 3 news story or academic paper on a mass wasting event. You may go as far back in history as you like, but the event must fit into one of the mass wasting types as covered in Unit 4.

Describe the physical precursors to the event and the technical aspects of the event. (Also, be sure to clearly state what type of mass wasting has occurred, using the types listed in the book chapter; and don’t forget the “where” and “when”.)
How many people were killed, injured, and/or displaced, and what was the total economic loss?
What is the historical significance of this event, examining both the local region, and any significance in terms of what we know about mass wasting events (i.e., what was learned from this event?).
Other guidelines:
Post must contain an image showing some aspect of the disaster; image must be embedded and visible in the post, no links, they will not count in grading.
Cite the news story or academic paper you used in APA (preferred) or MLA format; must be a reputable news agency or academic source. Additional sources (at least two more) used must be cited in APA or MLA, and must be an academically acceptable (if you’re not sure, ask).

Mass Wasting

The 1964 Alaska Good Friday
On the evening of 27th March 1964, the people of Alaska were going about their Good Friday celebrations when a massive 9.2 magnitude earthquake hit causing damaging mass wasting. For those four minutes that the earthquake hit, the people of Alaska lost their lives, homes and the land terrain that was familiar to them. The earthquake was so strong that it caused landslides and a tsunami along the Alaska beach. Due to the low population of Alaska, a total of 131 people were killed which was a low number for such a strong earthquake (Berman, 2014). Anchorage was highly affected as the airport was of no use, the city was flattened, and the water and power supply was completely cut off (nytimes, 1964). The economic loss came to a total of $280 million in damages which would take Alaska decades to recover.
The greatest accomplishment of the Good Friday Earthquake was linking tectonic plate movements to earthquakes in the world of geology. This event is significant because prior to its occurrence there was much doubt about the theory of plate tectonics. Until 1964, there was only one other strong earthquake to take place and it took the place for the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded (Fountain, 2014). Scientists in the 20th century had limited knowledge on the mechanisms behind mass movements. It was during the studies of the Great Alaskan Quake that the movement and collision of the earth’s top layer was acknowledged. Geological mapping took place and it was clear that there were areas that went up while others down (Taylor, 2014). Today, scientists are able to understand mass movements better due to the seismology information and skills acquired over the study of the 1964 Alaska Quake .

References
Berman, M. (2014). Rememebering the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake, the largest in U.S. History. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/03/27/remembering-the-1964-great-alaska-earthquake-the-largest-in-u-s-history/
Nytimes. (1964). Alaska Is Truck by Severe Quake. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/28/archives/alaska-is-struck-by-severe-quake-60-feared-dead-main-street-of.html
Fountain, H. (2014). A ’64 Quake Still Reverberates. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/science/a-64-quake-still-reverberates.html
Taylor, A. (2014). 1964: Alaska’s Good Friday Earthquake. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/1964-alaskas-good-friday-earthquake/100746/

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