Bad Friday: The Great and Terrible 1964 Alaska Earthquake

On March 27, 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake lasting more than five minutes rocked south central Alaska, leveling waterfronts, collapsing bridges, and crumbling landscapes. The most powerful quake in North American history and ensuing tidal waves left homes broken, children orphaned, and infrastructure decimated.

Yet, from within the tragedy also came stories of heroism, community, and perseverance from Alaskans who rode the earth as it shifted more than 14 feet, who floated atop roofs as the tsunami hit, and who searched through rubble and deserted homes amid devastation, heartbreak, and the beginning of recovery.

Lew Freedman is a former Alaska resident who spent 17 years at the ＂Anchorage Daily News＂ as sports editor and columnist. The author of 58 books, Freedman is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in journalism and he earned a masters degree from Alaska Pacific University. He currently resides in Indiana with his wife Debra.

Among his Alaska titles are: the best-selling ＂Iditarod Classics, More Iditarod Classics, Father of the Iditarod: The Life Of Joe Redington, Dangerous Steps, George Attla: The Legend of the Sled Dog Trail, Diamonds In The Rough, Iditarod Dreams＂ and ＂Fishing For A Laugh.＂ ＂＂＂＂

Freedman, who has also written for Alaska magazine and Alaska Newspapers, has won more than 250 journalism awards in his career and worked on the staffs of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Chicago Tribune covering government, writing feature stories and sports stories.

During his many years of living in Alaska Freedman experienced numerous earthquakes, one as powerful as 7.2 on the Richter Scale. He considers Alaska to be as beautiful place as there is in the world and as special as when he first saw it in 1983. Freedman still makes regular visits to Alaska to fish, gaze at the mountains, and spend time with family.＂＂