Hilo residents fleeing tsunami. Wikipedia photo.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the April 1, 1946, Aleutian Islands earthquake and tsunami.  The quake had a magnitude of 8.6 and resulted in hundreds of casualties, including all five lighthouse keepers at the Scotch Cap Lighthouse on Unimak Island. 55 foot waves raced across the Pacific at 500 miles per hour and hit Hawaii 4.9 hours later. In Hilo, 173 were killed, including some who were swept out to sea by the receding waters. The destruction prompted the creation of the Seismic Sea Wave Warning System, the forerunner of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

As detailed in the August 1946 issue of QST, at Ikatan, Alaska, the quake was felt by amateur radio operator Henry W. Peterson, K7FFG, who reported four earthquakes followed by a tidal wave cresting at 60 feet. His home was washed into the bay and many other buildings were damaged. He reported families having to head for the hills until daybreak when they could see what was going on.

At 6:00 AM, he put out a call of QRR, but was unable to make contact until 10:00 AM, when he got in touch with government station KNLL. He also raised Signal Corps station WXFP, which requested that he keep a constant radio watch and report every 15 minutes for 24 hours. He then reported all shocks twice a day. There were a total of about 70 shocks up through April 7.

Local residents were very relieved to know that he was in contact with the Signal Corps and could get help at any time if needed.