In the aftermath of the 1964 Alaska earthquake , the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. history , a small group of professional geologists , led by Selkregg , then a geologist with the Alaska State Housing Authority , were authorized by the housing authority and city officials to outline immediate courses of action . The Engineering Geology Evaluation Group was formed , consisting of a volunteer team of local geologists , engineering geologists , and soil scientists . Starting just two days after the earthquake , the group mapped the entire earthquake area and obtained aerial photographs of the damage . They also measured all of the vertical and horizontal displacements in the area . They released a preliminary report on April 14 , 1964 , and a final report on May 8 , 1964 . This report was later used by the Scientific and Engineering Task Force , appointed by the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska , to make recommendations about stability in the wake of the earthquake
1964 Alaska earthquake
1964 Alaska earthquake
Lidia Selkregg