Tsunami Event

Date Tsunami Cause Tsunami Source Location Tsunami Parameters
Max
Water
Height		 Num. of
Runups		 Deposits Magnitude Tsu
Int		 Warn Status
Year Mo Dy Hr Mn Sec Val Code Country Name Latitude Longitude Abe Iida
1964 3 28 3 36 14.0 4 3 USA PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, AK 61.040 -147.730 67.10 394 19 6.10 5.00
tsevent
Tsunami Effects Total Effects (Tsunami and Source)
Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged
Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De
124 3 119 4 3 139 3 430 4 3
Tsunami Comments

Comments for the Tsunami Event

Display listing of nearby tsunami events

This magnitude 9.2 Mw earthquake and ensuing tsunami caused 139 deaths and $430 million in property loss. The earthquake caused 15 deaths and the tsunami caused 124 deaths (106 in Alaska, 13 in California and 5 in Oregon).

About 20 landslide tsunamis were generated; the tectonic tsunami devastated many towns along the Gulf of Alaska, left serious damage in British Columbia, Hawaii, and along the west coast of the U.S. (15 killed), and was recorded on tide gages in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Seiches were set up in the Gulf of Mexico and in many lakes in the United States. Waves with amplitudes up to 6 feet were reported from some locales in Texas and Louisiana.

In Washington two people were injured and two more suffered heart attacks. Damage to bridges and roads was at least $80,000. One fishing boat was wrecked. Several skiffs and fishing nets were lost ($4,000). At least 15 homes were damaged including three destroyed. Nine trailers were damaged and three cars were lost. One mile of sea bulkhead was lost.

In Oregon, four children were drowned and one woman suffered a fatal heart attack. Bridges, houses, trailers, cars, motel units and sea walls were destroyed at communities along the length of the coast. Damage estimates are uncertain but appear to be between $750,000 and $1,000,000. Most of the communities did not receive any warning.

In California there were thirteen fatalities including the death of a Wilmington longshoreman killed when a cable on a crane broke and dropped a loaded pallet on him. Twelve were injured in Crescent city during the early part of the disaster. Damage in California probably exceeded $17,000,000. Crescent City was the worst affected with about $15,000,000 of the damage occurring there. About $1,000,000 occurred inside San Francisco bay due to currents, a major source of damage on the southern California Coast. Late arriving surges also caused one death and considerable dmage.

View a calculated tsunami-travel-time map.

Note: Most of the Travel Time numbers in the runups are from Leipold and Wood, 1969. This is Volume II of a definitive three-part publication on The Prince William Sound Earthquake.

References for a Tsunami event ID

References for the Tsunami Event

ID Author Year Citation
43 Berninghausen, William H. 1968 Tsunamis and seismic seiches reported from the western north and south Atlantic and the coastal waters of northwestern Europe. Informal Report no. 68-85, U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, Washington, D.C., USA, 45 p.
3834 Cloud, William K. and Nina H. Scott 1972 Distribution of intensity. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Seismology and Geodesy, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 65-108.
1871 Donn, William L. 1964 Alaskan Earthquake of 27 March 1964; Remote Seiche Stimulation. Science, v. 146, no. 3629, p. 261-262.
1792 Griffin, Wallace 1993 Personal communication with James F. Lander, regarding people reported missing in 1964 tsunami in Crescent City, California, February 17, 1993. See also Reference #1793.
1793 Griffin, Wallace, Jacquie Ambrose, Lillian Griffin, June Driezl, and Linda Daniel, editors 1984 Crescent City's Dark Disaster, Crescent City, California March 27-28, 1964 and 20 years Later, Crescent City Printing Company, Inc., 381, H Street, Crescent City, California, 1984, 188 pp.
10359 Haeussler, P. J., H. J. Lee, H. F. Ryan, K. Labay, R. E. Kayen, M. A. Hampton, E. Suleimani 2007 Submarine Slope Failures Near Seward, Alaska, During The M9.2 1964 Earthquake. In Submarine mass movements and their consequences, 3rd International Symposium, Vasilis Lykousis, Dimitris Sakellariou, and Jacques Locat, eds., Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol. 27, p. 269-278. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-6512-5_28
1688 Hogan, D.W., Whipple, W.W., and Lundy, C. 1964 "Tsunamis of 27 and 28 March, 1964, State of Washington Coastline," United States Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington, unpublished file report, 1964, 29 pp.
150 Iida, Kumizi 1984 Catalog of tsunamis in Japan and its neighboring countries. Aichi Institute of Technology, Yachigusa, Yakusa-cho, Toyota-shi, 470-03, Japan, 52 p.
1836 International Tsunami Information Center 2006 Retrieved April 21, 2006, from http://ioc3.unesco.org/itic/files/1964.pdf
239 Lander, James F. 1996 Tsunamis Affecting Alaska 1737-1996, KGRD no. 31, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA, September, 155 p.
236 Lander, James F., and Patricia A. Lockridge 1989 United States Tsunamis (Including United States Possessions) 1690-1988, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA, Publication 41-2, 265 p.
2102 Leipold, Louis E., and Fergus J. Wood, eds. 1969 The Prince William Sound, Alaska, Earthquake of 1964 and Aftershocks. Volume II: Part B and C. Publication 10-3, Coast and Geodetic Survey, U.S. Department of Commerce, 350 pages.
3628 Lemke, Richard W. 1966 The Alaska Earthquake, March 27, 1964: Effects on Communities - Seward. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 542-E, 43 p.
3822 Loomis, Harold G. 1972 The major tsunami in the Hawaiian Islands. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Oceanography and Coastal Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 181-190.
1570 McCulloch, David S. 1968 Slide-induced waves, seiching, and ground fracturing at Lake Kenai. The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964: Hydrology, The National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 47-81.
1877 McGarr, Arthur 1965 Excitation of seiches in channels by seismic waves. Journal Geophysical Research, v. 70, no. 4, p. 847-854.
3825 McGarr, Arthur, and Robert C. Vorhis 1968 Seismic seiches. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Hydrology, Part A, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 196-236.
3820 McGarr, Arthur, and Robert C. Vorhis 1972 Seismic seiches in bays, channels, and estuaries. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Oceanography and Coastal Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 25-28.
1809 Murphy, D. Tab 1964 Tab, Report of Tidal Wave Emergency, Grays Harbor County, Office of Emergency Service, Washington State, unpublished, April 3, 1964, 11 pp.
1415 Myers, Edward P., and Antonio M. Baptista 2001 Analysis of factors influencing simulations of the 1993 Hokkaido Nansei-Oki and 1964 Alaska tsunamis. Natural Hazards, vol. 23, p. 1-28.
1617 NOAA West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center 2006 Amplitudes for the March 28, 1964 tsunami. Retrieved (in 2006) from: link
3835 Pararas-Carayannis, George 1972 Source mechanisms of the water waves Produced. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Seismology and Geodesy, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 249-258.
3128 Plafker, George and Reuben Kachadoorian 1966 The Alaska Earthquake, March 27, 1964: Regional Effects - Kodiak and Nearby Islands. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 543-D, 46 pages.
369 Sanchez Devora, Antonio J., and Salvador F. Farreras Sanz 1993 Catalog of tsunamis on the western coast of Mexico. Report SE-50, World Data Center A for Solid Earth Geophysics, NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 79 p.
1801 Schatz, Clifford E., Herbert Curl, Jr., and Wayne V. Burt 1964 Tsunamis on the Oregon Coast. Department of Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. The Ore Bin, Vol. 26, No. 12, 1964 p. 231-232.
4221 Shennan, Ian, Ronald Bruhn, George Plafker 2009 Multi-segment earthquakes and tsunami potential of the Aleutian megathrust. Quarternary Science Reviews, vol. 28, p. 7-13. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.09.016
1690 Spaeth, M.G., and Berkman, S.C., 1967 The Tsunami of March 28, 1964 as Recorded at Tide Stations, ESSA Technical Report C&GS 33, U.S. Department of Commerce, Rockville, Maryland, 1967, 86 pp.
1766 Spaeth, Mark G. and Saul G. Berkman 1972 Tsunami of March 28, 1964, as recorded at tide stations and the Seismic Sea Wave Warning System. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Oceanography and Coastal Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 38-110.
470 Spaeth, Mark G., and S.C. Berkman 1965 Tsunami of March 28, 1964 as recorded at tide stations. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Rockville, Maryland, USA, 59 p.
542 Stover, Carl W., and Jerry L. Coffman 1993 Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1928-1986 United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
3823 Von Hune, Roland and Doak C. Cox 1972 Locally generated tsunamis and other local waves. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Oceanography and Coastal Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 211-221.
3826 Vorhis, Robert C. 1968 Effects outside Alaska. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Hydrology, Part A, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 140-173.
3627 Waller, Rober M., and Kirk W. Stanley 1966 The Alaska Earthquake, March 27, 1964: Effects on Communities - Homer. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 542-D, 28 p.
482 Whiteside, Lowell S., James F. Lander, and Paul Hattori 2002 The tsunami history of Guam; 1849-1993, Science of Tsunami Hazards, the International Journal of the Tsunami Society, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, vol. 20, no. 3, p. 158-174.
1791 Wilson, Basil W. and Alf Torum 1968 The Tsunami of the Alaskan Earthquake, 1964; Engineering Evaluations. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research Center, Technical Memorandum, No. 25, May 1968, 401 p.
3821 Wilson, Basil W. and Alf Torum 1972 Runup heights of the major tsunami on North American coasts. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Oceanography and Coastal Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., p. 158-180.
2024 Zayakin, Yu. A., and A. A. Luchinina 1990 Catalog of Tsunamis in Kamchatka, World Data Center of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Hydrometeorology, Obninsk, 1987, Translated by Amerind Publishing Co., Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 74 p.
1800 newspaper 1964 Aberdeen Daily World, March 31, 1964.
1802 newspaper 1964 Brookings Harbor Pilot, April 2, 1964, p. 1.
1778 newspaper 1964 Cayucos By the Sea, California, April 2, 1964.
1814 newspaper 1964 Chinook Observer, Long Beach, Washington, April 3, 1964, p. 1.
1787 newspaper 1964 Ferndale Enterprise, California, April 10, 1964, p. 1, 4.
1786 newspaper 1964 Fort Bragg Advocate News, California, April 2, 1964.
1782 newspaper 1964 Half Moon Bay Recorder and Pescadero Pebble, April 2, 1964, p.1, 10.
1790 newspaper 1964 Humboldt Standard, California, March 28, 1964, p. 1, 11; and March 30, 1964, p. 7.
1780 newspaper 1964 Monterey Peninsula Herald, California, March 28, 1964.
1771 newspaper 1964 Oxnard Press Courier, March 28, 1964.
1767 newspaper 1964 San Diego Union, March 29 and 30, 1964.
1774 newspaper 1964 San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, March 28, 1964.
1775 newspaper 1964 San Luis Obispo Daily Tribune, April 1, 1964.
1776 newspaper 1964 San Luis Obispo Daily Tribune, March 28, 1964.
1768 newspaper 1964 San Pedro News Pilot, March 28 and 29, 1964.
1783 newspaper 1964 San Rafael Independent Journal, California, March 28 and 30, 1964.
1772 newspaper 1964 Santa Barbara News-Press, March 28, 1964.
1773 newspaper 1964 Santa Barbara News-Press, March 30, 1964, p. 5.
1788 newspaper 1964 Santa Cruz Sentinel, California, March 29, 1964.
1769 newspaper 1964 Santa Monica Evening Outlook, California, March 28, 1964, p. 1.
1770 newspaper 1964 Santa Monica Evening Outlook, California, March 30, 1964, p. 7.
1785 newspaper 1964 Santa Rosa Press Democrat, California, March 29, 1964.
1807 newspaper 1964 Seattle Daily Times, Washington, March 28, 1964, p. 1, 2.
1799 newspaper 1964 Seattle Daily Tribune, March 28, 1964, p. 2.
1798 newspaper 1964 Seattle Daily Tribune, March 30, 1964.
1777 newspaper 1964 The Sun, Morro Bay, California, April 2, 1964.
1813 newspaper 1964 The Tribune, Ilwaco, Washington, April 3, 1964, p. 1.
1779 newspaper 1964 Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, March 28, 1964.
1795 newspaper 1984 Del Norte Triplicate, Crescent City, California, March 28, 1984. Tribute paper on the twentieth anniversary of the 1964 event. 12 pages.