Massive damage from the Good Friday Earthquakeof 1964 near Anchorage, AK March 27, 1964. Good Friday. The Aluetian Subduction Zone--where the Pacific tectonic plate collides with the North American plate--suddenly ripped loose, unleashing a massive magnitude 9.2 earthquake. It was the largest seismic event in North American history and the second largest ever recorded in the world. For