Valdez, Alaska - On March 27, over 40 people from Prince William Sound communities gathered at Kelsey Dock in Valdez to remember those lost in the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake.
Valdez Mayor Dennis Fleming read a proclamation declaring the date “Earthquake Memorial Remembrance Day.”
The proclamation described the loss of life in Valdez, when submarine landslides triggered waves “inundating the community and destroying the City dock in Valdez, at which the Alaska Steamship Company vessel ‘Chena’ was moored, unloading cargoes; and the lives of 31 Valdezeans in the boat harbor or standing on the dock were taken when that structure collapsed and disappeared under the waters of Port Valdez.” Many victims were children, who often came to greet incoming ships at that time.
The proclamation acknowledged, “the people of Chitina, Copper Center, Glennallen, Fairbanks and other Alaska communities responded immediately to the needs of Valdez in the highest tradition of compassion; and, in the intervening 60 years, the families and friends of those who perished have borne their sorrow quietly and with diminishing public awareness of their personal tragedies.”
Pioneers of Alaska President Dwain Dunning shared brief words, stating, “we were all affected,” and introduced Deacon Dan Stowe to share a prayer. He invited those assembled to a reception hosted by the Pioneers at the Museum Annex.
Stowe opened with the appeal, “Lord, you are the one sent to heal the brokenhearted and comfort those in mourning.” He invited all to pray for the families left behind during a moment of silence.
Marvin Vlasoff of Tatitlek read the names of the people who died in the earthquake or its immediate aftermath. They included people from communities scattered across Prince William Sound, and members of an Air National Guard crew assisting the area who died in a crash. He ended with the Russian Orthodox blessing “Vechnaya pamyat,” - “memory eternal.”
Vlasoff’s grandmother Anna Vlasoff was lost in the tsunami that hit Chenega, along with 22 others, estimated to be a third of the total community population. Families tragically lost several members all at once.
The Chenega Village site was destroyed. The surviving population moved to other communities including the Village of Tatitlek, Cordova, or Alaska’s bigger cities. Twenty years later, a new Village of Chenega was established in a different location on Prince William Sound.
Valdez was relocated to its current location after flood waters rendered the original townsite uninhabitable. Residents, about 800 at the time, either lived in other communities or did their best in the damaged town for two years.
The earthquake measured 9.2 on the Richter scale and lasted 5.5 minutes.
Attendees were invited to throw flowers into the sea in memory of those washed away.
Read more about the history of Chenega and Valdez in the aftermath of the earthquake:
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