I'm pleased to report that my new book, Valdez Rises: One Town’s Struggle for Survival After the Great Alaska Earthquake, is now available to order online at www.valdezrises.com. This is a story about the four year (1964-1967) epic journey to rebuild the town in a new location. It is a story of resilience and fortitude in the midst of loss, grief, and conflict. And, it’s a story of hope for communities that today grapple with reconstruction and relocation in the face of climate change, rising sea levels and increasing numbers of severe natural disasters.
Here is the back cover blurb:
On March 27, 1964, the largest earthquake ever to strike North America devastated Alaska’s coast. Valdez, a town of 500 people, lay at ground zero. Here, buildings crumbled, roads cracked open, and the entire waterfront collapsed into the ocean. Within days of the quake, officials decided they could not rebuild Valdez in situ—the site was unstable. Instead, the entire town would move.
The Valdez City Council rallied the town, oversaw the buy-out of Old Town homes, assigned new town lots, and coordinated with a sea of federal and state agencies to build roads, utilities, schools, parks, businesses and homes. Within just four years, the new town was built and every man, woman and child moved. The epic relocation was a success and positioned Valdez to win the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline Terminal.
The voices of residents and the town’s sequence of mayors and city council members enrich the unvarnished story and reveal the community’s tenacity and resilience. Their voices also reveal the pervasive challenges of grief, fear, conflict and uncertainty.
Today, communities across the globe face rising sea levels while others are destroyed by an increasing number of severe natural disasters. These towns are being forced to relocate and rebuild. For these communities, their residents, and leaders, the Valdez experience offers a message of hope.
Published by: Sapphire Books, Spokane, WA
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