On April 29, 1965, at 8:29 a.m., a powerful earthquake struck the Puget Sound region, killing seven people and injuring dozens more. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 6.5-magnitude quake lasted roughly 45 seconds and caused significant destruction in Western Washington, particularly in Seattle and surrounding communities.
The quake’s epicenter was located near Des Moines, Washington, and was one of the strongest in the region’s recorded history — surpassed only by earthquakes in 1872, 1949, and 2001. The tremor was felt across a 190,000 square mile area, extending into northwest Oregon, British Columbia, and northern Idaho.
Three people were killed by falling debris — one in Seattle’s Pioneer Square and two at Fisher Flouring Mills on Harbor Island. Four others, all elderly women from Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Port Townsend, died from heart failure linked to the stress of the quake…