Two kinds of tsunami waves destroyed many coastal communities that day. First, there were waves generated by massive tectonic movements in the ocean floor; those waves traveled great distances at tremendous speeds. The second type of wave was a localized tsunami wave, which was the result of underwater landslides and sediment slumps near the waterfronts of bays and harbors. These localized waves came ashore almost  immediately (even before the ground stopped shaking) and were responsible for the majority of lives lost in Alaska. Powerful aftershocks plagued Alaska for more than three weeks after the "big one".

CHENEGA (23* dead)
The small Alutiiq fishing village of Chenega, perched on the edge of Chenega Bay in Prince William Sound, was completely destroyed by three localized tsunami waves that came ashore within minutes of the earthquake. The waves washed away every house, demolished the dock, destroyed their boats and drowned 23* of the 75+ residents. The only building that survived was the school house because it was on high ground.

The people of Chenega were earthquake savvy, so when the earth started shaking that day, they turned off their oil stoves and headed for higher ground.

Parents told their older children to run up the mountain which was directly behind the village. Those with babies and pre-schoolers, tried to carry them up the mountain, but were hit by tsunami waves which pulled younger children out of the arms of their parents, never to be found again. Twenty three* people drowned at Chenega; twelve of them were children.

NOTE: In total, twenty six Chenega residents died due to the earthquake, 23 of them died IN Chenega and 3 others (the Chimovisky family) died at Port Nellie Juan (19½ miles from Chenega) where they were working as cannery caretakers.

Chenega's 53 survivors were taken to Tatitlek, Cordova or Anchorage and never moved back to Old Chenega. Twenty years after the earthquake, the village of NEW CHENEGA was established on Evans Island.

VALDEZ   (33 dead)

Twenty eight adults and children were on the Valdez dock watching the "M.V.CHENA" unload it's freight when the earthquake struck. The crew (as was custom) had been throwing candy and oranges to the children on the dock.

The earthquake quickly turned the glacieal sediment along the waterfront, into liquid mud and a 4,000' x 600' section of it slid out into Port Valdez, displacing the water and
collapsing the dock, warehouse, packing plant, cannery and bar; it also threw everyone on the dock down onto the muddy ocean floor. Almost instantly, a 30' wave of mud and water rushed back into the waterfront, burying everything.

The next 30' wave reached the business district of Valdez and heavily damaged 40% of the businesses. The Union Oil tanks ruptured and caught fire and the water, sewer and phones were crippled. The entire town was damaged beyond repair in less than 10 minutes!! Three years later, the whole town of Valdez was moved to a safer location, 4 miles away.

SEWARD  (12 dead)

Both kinds of tsunami waves hit the town of Seward. Less than a minute after the earth started shaking, a 3,500' section of the waterfront (at the south end of town) slid into the bay, creating a 30' localized tsunami. The underwater land slide carried away the cannery, the boat dock, the Army dock, part of the railroad dock and the Standard Oil dock. To give you an idea of how massive this land slide was: a 200 ton wharf crane, at the railroad dock was swallowed up by the underwater slump and NEVER found again.

Subsequent waves spread burning oil (from the Standard Oil Company tanks) toward the loaded railroad tank cars and the Texaco tank farm, which then exploded, spreading fire all over the town of Seward.

Waves destroyed the small boat harbor and shuffled (for the lack of a better word) the 125 boats moored there; some boats were pushed far inland, onto dry ground. Railroad tracks were stripped off of their rails and tank cars were tumbled like pickup sticks. Remarkably, only 13 people died in Seward.

ANCHORAGE  (8 dead plus 1 from Ft. Richardson)

Parts of Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, saw substantial damage; not from tsunami waves, like other parts of central Alaska, but from 4½ MINUTES of ground movement which turned the clay and sediment (that the Inlet side of Anchorage is built on) into a liquid that caused large landsides, like the one that destroyed three blocks of Fourth Avenue (see above photo). Another problem area was over behind the old A.N.S. Hospital, where a section of the bluff (650' wide x 12' deep) fractured and moved north, taking out a fuel storage tank and lowering part of the hospital parking lot by 25'. The south wing of the Government Hill Elementary School dropped 30' and the east wing of the school split lengthwise and collapsed. The front of the new five story J.C.Penny building collapsed as did the new six story Four Seasons apartment building on L Street; the 60' tall air traffic control tower at International Airport also collapsed.

Major ground movement destroyed 75+ homes and killed 4 people in the Turnagain Heights area (off of Northern Lights Blvd.) where many prominent Anchorage families lived on a high bluff overlooking the Inlet. When the shaking started, the entire 8,600' x 1,200' bluff slid nearly 1,000', breaking homes in half and burying others. Today that area is called Earthquake Park.

WHITTIER  (13 dead)
The devastation in Whittier happened at lightening speed during the 1964 earthquake. Even before the earth stopped shaking, three 40' localized tsunami waves came ashore (90 seconds apart), killing 13 of Whittler's 70 residents and depositing two ton boulders on shore. The waves demolished the railroad depot, the Columbia Lumber Company and tipped over the Union Oil tank farm which then exploded and sent burning oil out into the bay and filling the town with black smoke.

KODIAK ISLAND  (22 dead)

Tsunami waves came ashore at the city of Kodiak about every 55 minutes for almost 10 hours. The first 30' waves were the largest, but the smaller ones were none the less deadly. The waves pushed 50 and 100 ton crab boats over the harbor breakwater and deposited them 2 to 3 blocks into town. Downtown, buildings were pushed off of their foundations and relocated from one block to the next. Forty percent of Kodiak's business district and thirty percent of its fishing industry facilities were demolished. The small boat harbor was destroyed, as were 158 homes. Thirteen people were killed in the town of Kodiak, 3 in Kaguyak village, 3 in Afognak village, 1 in Old Harbor and 1 in Kalsin Bay.

This memorial plaque, in Kodiak, was donated by
Koniag Inc. and the information on it is
from my research.

Taylor, William George	1918-1964 b. Oregon	Anchorage, Alaska	Died in Anchorage International Airport Tower.Son of George Washington Taylor and Elizabeth (Keedy) Taylor
Totemoff, Phillip Jr. Thompson, Ralph E.	child	Chenega, Alaska Valdez, Alaska	Son of Shirley; Grandson of Willie Kompkoff Third mate on the SS Chena, had a heart attack during the earthquake, died next morning
VanBuskirk, Jack Theodore	1926-1964 b. Wash.	Valdez, Alaska	Son of Ralph & Frances Elba Onalee (Harris) Van Buskirk Husband of Betty A. Stinnett and father of Esther and Mark.
Vlasoff, Anna		Chenega, Alaska	Mother of Sally Evanoff,  body found on beach, washed out of her house when first tsunami wave hit. Buried in Cordova.
Vosgien, Richard P.	12	Kodiak, Alaska	Walking on Beach Road in Kalsin Bay with 12 year old Maurice Curry. Both boys killed by tsunami. Son of Art Vosgien.
Wallace, Arlene L.	1938-1964	Kalsin Bay, Alaska	Arlene L. Boyer (Bushor)(Wallace) drowned along with her son Jack Bushor, at Kalsin Bay on Kodiak Island. They were trying to get back to Naval Station . Wife of Airman Gordon Wallace. Buried in Pennsylvania with son.
Walunga, Frank	1919-1964 b.Russia	Seward, Alaska	Had been out seal hunting with Jesse Lee Hatch in a 14' wooden skiff; last seen 12 minutes after earthquake by Dr. Starr and Bob Hayes, but hunters refused aide. Bodies never found.
Ware, Geriann Dee	1963-1964	Whittier, Alaska	Daughter of Jerry and Judy Ware.Second tsunami wave crushed the family trailer and pulled mother and baby apart. Baby found alive in snowbank, but later died.
Wasilie, Eli		Kodiak, Alaska	Was a crewman on a boat called The Spruce Cape, when it broke apart. Other men on the boat were the skipper, John "Sutt" Larsen, Harry Nielsen and Ted Panamarioff. Eli Wasilie was from Larson Bay, his body was never found.
Wheeler, Phillip	1915-1964	Valdez, Alaska	(assumed) Son of George A. Wheeler and Edith A. Peak
Wisdom, Alva Marvin	1910-1964 b. Oregon	Seward, Alaska	Swept away by a wave as he was working to clear the causeway of tsunami debris. Husband of Helen Edra (Barger) Wisdom Buried in the Pioneers Cemetery - Seward
Williams, Milton Thomas "Bud"	1921-1964 b.Wyoming	Valdez, Alaska	Husband of Lois Lee (Gilliam) Williams also known as "Maggie Pearl".
Wright, Bonita Ione	1962-1964	Crescent City, California	Daughter of William Eugene and Kathern Ilene (Merz) Wright. Drowned while she, her baby brother and mother tried to flee their home near South Beach, Crescent City, California. Age 2
Wright, William Eugene	1963-1964	Crescent City, California	Son of William Eugene and Kathern Ilene (Merz) Wright. Was pulled from his mothers arms by the water as they tried to flee their home near South Beach, Crescent City, California .   Age 10 months
Wyatt, Donald	31	Kaguyak, Alaska	From Los Angeles.  He was a geologist.  He & his wife, Joyce were camped 2 miles from Kaguyak Village. His body was found floating in the lake (he was buried in Kodiak). Kaguyak is on Kodiak Island.
Zeedar, Inakenty "Nick"	49	Kaguyak, Alaska	"Nick" Zeedar, Simmie Alexandroff, Victor Melovedoff & Max Shelikoff tried to get a large skiff that they wanted to use to transfer the women and children to safety. Nick & Simmie were lost. Nick's body was found on the beach, covered by a broken section of the roof. Kaguyak is on Kodiak Island
Zook, Gerald Lee Hibner   "Jerry "	27	Valdez, Alaska	Born in Wrangall, Alaska, son of Nettie Prescott and Lyle Hibner, step-son of Bill Zook. Was to be married week after earthquake. Died on the Valdez dock, body never found.
			My earthquake pages took me 10+ years to put together. Please do not re-print or re-publish in ANY form without my written permission.     coleen_mielke@hotmail.com Click Here To Go Back To My Main Alaska Page