SEATTLE — On April 13, 1949, a massive 6.7 magnitude earthquake rattled western Washington.
The ground shook for 30 seconds and was felt over a 230,000-square-mile area, with the epicenter near the Joint Base Lewis–McChord area.
1949 ARCHIVE PHOTOS: 6.7 magnitude earthquake aftermath
The quake was devastating. Eight people were killed, and numerous others were injured.
Countless buildings were also damaged. In Centralia, the earthquake damaged 40% of homes and businesses. Several blocks of Puyallup were flooded by groundwater released by the fractured earth.
Seattle’s damage was mainly centered around Pioneer Square and saw building facades collapse onto the street, cars crushed by debris, and spires shaken from churches.
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“At Olympia, almost all large buildings were damaged to some extent, including eight structures on the Capitol grounds. Many chimneys and two large smokestacks fell,” the United States Geological Survey wrote on its website. “Public utilities sustained serious damage – water and gas mains were broken, and electric and telegraph services were interrupted.”
Buildings in Tacoma and Seattle were also ruined, with brick buildings and houses on filled ground taking the worst beating. A huge section of a 200-foot cliff toppled into Puget Sound three days after the earthquake, producing a tsunami that swept across the narrows and flooded a group of houses along the Tacoma shoreline.
The Washington Military Department wrote that the estimated damage was $25 million, which is $334.5 million in 2025 dollars.
“When I talk to people, the 1949 earthquake is not nearly as remembered as the earthquakes we’ve had in 1965 and 2001, and yet it’s probably the most damaging of the three,” Geologic Hazards Supervisor Maximilian Dixon told the WMD in 2019.
On April 29, 1965, another 6.7 earthquake struck the same area, killing seven people and causing about $12.5 million in damage ($100.3 million today.)
50 years later saw the infamous 6.8 Nisqually earthquake, which injured 400 and caused over $2 billion in damage.
In the years since, various smaller earthquakes have rumbled across the region – but none nearly as destructive and tragic as the seismic disaster on April 13, 1949.
