The city in question was Anchorage. The town of Valdez (population 3,976 in 2010) also suffered catastrophic damage.
The earthquake occurred on Good Friday (27 March), and according to Wikipedia it was the second–largest earthquake ever recorded. Its epicentre was on Block Island in Prince William Sound, 78 miles from Anchorage.
The largest–ever earthquake struck Chile in 1960, and measured between 9.4 and 9.6 on the Richter scale.
© Haydn Thompson 2017