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Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist [[Lidia Selkregg]], the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city.<ref name=":0a">Friedel, Megan K. (2010). Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. HMC-0051. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328165246/https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ |date=March 28, 2019 }}</ref> The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by [[Ruth A. M. Schmidt]], a geology professor at the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]]. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that the rebuilt infrastructure would be safe.<ref>"Ruth Anne Marie Schmidt Ph.D." [[Alaska Women's Hall of Fame]]. 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.</ref> The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.<ref name=":0a" /><ref>Saucier, Heather (April 2014). "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists]]. Retrieved July 31, 2018.</ref>
Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist [[Lidia Selkregg]], the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city.<ref name=":0a">Friedel, Megan K. (2010). Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. HMC-0051. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328165246/https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ |date=March 28, 2019 }}</ref> The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by [[Ruth A. M. Schmidt]], a geology professor at the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]]. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that the rebuilt infrastructure would be safe.<ref>"Ruth Anne Marie Schmidt Ph.D." [[Alaska Women's Hall of Fame]]. 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.</ref> The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.<ref name=":0a" /><ref>Saucier, Heather (April 2014). "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists]]. Retrieved July 31, 2018.</ref>


The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez.<ref name="Hand">Cloe, John Haile [http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ "Helping Hand" Military response to Good Friday earthquake] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027054632/http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ |date=2016-10-27 }} Alaska Historical Society, 3/4/2014</ref> On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake. The U.S. Navy and [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed.<ref name="Hand" /> A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering {{convert|2,570,000|lbs}} of food and other supplies.<ref name="Galvin" /> Broadcast journalist, [[Genie Chance]], assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the [[KENI]] air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=When a Quake Shook Alaska, a Radio Reporter Led the Public Through the Devastating Crisis|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-date=March 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321054507/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief.<ref name=":2" /> Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barbaro |first=Michael |date=May 22, 2020 |title=Genie Chance and the Great Alaska Earthquake |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102185032/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez.<ref name="Hand">Cloe, John Haile [http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ "Helping Hand" Military response to Good Friday earthquake] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027054632/http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ |date=2016-10-27 }} Alaska Historical Society, 3/4/2014</ref> On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake. The U.S. Navy and [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed.<ref name="Hand" /> A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering {{convert|2,570,000|lbs}} of food and other supplies.<ref name="Galvin" /> Broadcast journalist, [[Genie Chance]], assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the [[KENI]] air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=When a Quake Shook Alaska, a Radio Reporter Led the Public Through the Devastating Crisis|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-date=March 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321054507/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief.<ref name=":2" /> Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barbaro |first=Michael |date=May 22, 2020 |title=Genie Chance and the Great Alaska Earthquake |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102185032/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>


In the longer term, the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110 million.<ref name=Galvin>Galvin, John [http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska, March 1964] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027062138/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ |date=2016-10-27 }} ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', 6/29/2007</ref> The [[West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center]] was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at [[Prudhoe Bay]]. At the order of the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Defense Department]], the [[Alaska National Guard]] founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters.<ref name=Hand/>
In the longer term, the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110 million.<ref name=Galvin>Galvin, John [http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska, March 1964] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027062138/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ |date=2016-10-27 }} ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', 6/29/2007</ref> The [[West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center]] was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at [[Prudhoe Bay]]. At the order of the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Defense Department]], the [[Alaska National Guard]] founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters.<ref name=Hand/>
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Alaska has had a problem with a "[[brain drain]]". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. {{as of|2013}}, Alaska did not have a [[Legal education in Alaska|law school]] or medical school.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 5, 2013 |title=House Bill 43 'University Institutes of Law And Medicine' |work=States News Service |url=http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230080140/http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[University of Alaska]] has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309023826/http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-date=March 9, 2008 |title=UA Scholars Program—Frequently Asked Questions |access-date=December 28, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Alaska has had a problem with a "[[brain drain]]". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. {{as of|2013}}, Alaska did not have a [[Legal education in Alaska|law school]] or medical school.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 5, 2013 |title=House Bill 43 'University Institutes of Law And Medicine' |work=States News Service |url=http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230080140/http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[University of Alaska]] has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309023826/http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-date=March 9, 2008 |title=UA Scholars Program—Frequently Asked Questions |access-date=December 28, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Beginning in 1998, schools in rural Alaska must have at least 10 students to retain funding from the state, and campuses not meeting the number close. This was due to the loss in oil revenues that previously propped up smaller rural schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|title=Alaska's Rural Schools Fight Off Extinction|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2009-11-25|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126032742/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, there was a proposal to raise that minimum to 25,<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|title=Proposed increase to minimum enrollment threatens funding for dozens of small schools|agency=[[KLDG]]|publisher=[[Alaska Public Radio]]|date=2015-10-26|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=October 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028124742/https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|url-status=live}}</ref> but legislators in the state largely did not agree.<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|title=Bill to cut funding to small schools finds little support among Alaska lawmakers|publisher=[[KDLG]]|date=2015-11-11|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116180921/https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|url-status=live}}</ref>
Beginning in 1998, schools in rural Alaska must have at least 10 students to retain funding from the state, and campuses not meeting the number close. This was due to the loss in oil revenues that previously propped up smaller rural schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|title=Alaska's Rural Schools Fight Off Extinction|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2009-11-25|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126032742/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, there was a proposal to raise that minimum to 25,<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|title=Proposed increase to minimum enrollment threatens funding for dozens of small schools|agency=[[KLDG]]|publisher=[[Alaska Public Radio]]|date=2015-10-26|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=October 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028124742/https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|url-status=live}}</ref> but legislators in the state largely did not agree.<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|title=Bill to cut funding to small schools finds little support among Alaska lawmakers|publisher=[[KDLG]]|date=2015-11-11|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116180921/https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Don Young, official 115th Congress photo portrait (headshot).jpg|thumb|Republican [[Don Young]] held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years, from 1973 to 2022.]]
[[File:Don Young, official 115th Congress photo portrait (headshot).jpg|thumb|Republican [[Don Young]] held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years, from 1973 to 2022.]]


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{{See also|List of Alaska Routes}}
{{See also|List of Alaska Routes}}


Alaska has few road connections compared to the rest of the U.S. The state's road system, covering a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and the [[Alaska Highway]], the principal route out of the state through Canada. The state capital, Juneau, is not accessible by road, with access only being through ferry or flight;<ref>{{cite web|last=Yardley|first=William|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-access=subscription|title=In Juneau, Firm Resistance to a Road Out of Isolation|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 6, 2008|accessdate=May 7, 2023|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328012425/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-status=live}}</ref> this has spurred debate over decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system, or building a road connection from [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]]. The western part of Alaska has no road system connecting the communities with the rest of Alaska.
Alaska has few road connections compared to the rest of the U.S. The state's road system, covering a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and the [[Alaska Highway]], the principal route out of the state through Canada. The state capital, Juneau, is not accessible by road, with access only being through ferry or flight;<ref>{{cite web|last=Yardley|first=William|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-access=subscription|title=In Juneau, Firm Resistance to a Road Out of Isolation|work=The New York Times|date=June 6, 2008|accessdate=May 7, 2023|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328012425/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-status=live}}</ref> this has spurred debate over decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system, or building a road connection from [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]]. The western part of Alaska has no road system connecting the communities with the rest of Alaska.


The [[Interstate Highways in Alaska]] consists of a total of {{Convert | 1082 | mi}}. One unique feature of the Alaska Highway system is the [[Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel]], an active [[Alaska Railroad]] tunnel recently upgraded to provide a paved roadway link with the isolated community of [[Whittier, Alaska|Whittier]] on [[Prince William Sound]] to the [[Seward Highway]] about {{convert|50|mi|km}} southeast of Anchorage at [[Portage, Alaska|Portage]]. At {{convert|2.5|mi|km|1}}, the tunnel was the longest road tunnel in North America until 2007.<ref>completion of the {{convert|3.5|mi|km|adj=on|1}} [[Interstate 93]] tunnel as part of the "[[Big Dig]]" project in Boston, Massachusetts.</ref> The tunnel is the longest combination [[List of road-rail tunnels|road and rail tunnel]] in North America.  
The [[Interstate Highways in Alaska]] consists of a total of {{Convert | 1082 | mi}}. One unique feature of the Alaska Highway system is the [[Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel]], an active [[Alaska Railroad]] tunnel recently upgraded to provide a paved roadway link with the isolated community of [[Whittier, Alaska|Whittier]] on [[Prince William Sound]] to the [[Seward Highway]] about {{convert|50|mi|km}} southeast of Anchorage at [[Portage, Alaska|Portage]]. At {{convert|2.5|mi|km|1}}, the tunnel was the longest road tunnel in North America until 2007.<ref>completion of the {{convert|3.5|mi|km|adj=on|1}} [[Interstate 93]] tunnel as part of the "[[Big Dig]]" project in Boston, Massachusetts.</ref> The tunnel is the longest combination [[List of road-rail tunnels|road and rail tunnel]] in North America.  
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