Large Scale Emergencies and Disasters in Seattle: A History

Seattle has had its share of destructive events. The list that follows ranges from full-scale disasters to wake up calls, like earthquakes in the mid-1990's. Most events had a direct impact within the City limits. But a few, like the deadly 1972 Vancouver, Washington tornado, were included to illustrate that less common hazards do pose a risk here.

Dec. 2006     Winter Storm
Powerful winds preceded by a short rainstorm of unprecedented intensity. The rains caused flash flooding throughout the City, but hit Madison Valley the hardest where one person was killed. 175,000 customers were left without power. Most customers were back on within 48 hours, but even five days after the storm 15,000 customers were still out due to damage to power poles.

Feb. 2001     Earthquake
The Nisqually Earthquake was a Magnitude 6.8 event. Large deep quake under South Puget Sound. Regionally, it caused one death (stress induced heart attack) and 407 injuries, 4 of which were serious. Estimates place damage over $200 million in Seattle.

Dec. 1999     Terrorism
Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian man, was caught smuggling bomb-making materials into the U.S. at Port Angeles. He had hotel reservations in Seattle close to the Seattle Center. The New Year's celebration at the Center was cancelled. New York City, Washington D.C. and Seattle were possible targets.

Nov. - Dec. 1999    Civil Disorder
Civil Disorder From November 29 to December 3,1999 Seattle hosted the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference. Protests occurred each day; some became violent. Over 500 people were arrested. While there were no deaths, 89 people were treated at local hospitals for injuries. On November 29^th, the Mayor declared a state of emergency, resulting in a limited curfew in part of the downtown area. The Washington State National Guard was mobilized.

Nov. 1998      Public Safety
Metro bus driver was shot as his bus traveled across the Aurora Bridge. The bus crashed through the guardrail and off the bridge, landing on an apartment building. Three people died and sixteen were seriously injured.

Jun. 1997      Earthquake
Magnitude 4.9. The shallow earthquake was centered under Bremerton. No damage reported in Seattle.

1997     Tornado
Four weak (F0) tornadoes were confirmed in western King County. None caused damage.

Mar. 1997     Landslides
Slides continued due to the wet winter.

Jan. 1997     Landslides
Over 100 landslides were reported in the City. These slides and the accompanying snow caused approximately $100 million in damages. Slides occurred on most slopes prone to them.

Dec. 1996     Snow
Near record snow fell the day after Christmas. Metro halted service completely for the first time in its history. Freeze and snowmelt contributed to flooding and landslides during the following week.

July, 1996     Public Safety
Bomb scare occurred in Westlake Park when politically-inspired protest art went awry. Nine blocks were evacuated during a busy weekday afternoon while the police investigated.

Apr .- July 1996     Terrorism
Spokane. Members of the white separatist Phineas Priesthood committed two bank robberies. Both were preceded by bombings. The first, on April 1, 1996, targeted the Spokesman-Review newspaper; and the second, on July 12, 1996, attacked an abortion clinic. There were no injuries, but property damage was extensive.

May 1996      Earthquake
A shallow magnitude 5..3 earthquake was centered under Duvall. Some light damage was reported, mainly objects falling from shelves. No damage was reported in Seattle.

1996     Terrorism
Eight individuals were arrested near Bellingham. They had plotted attacks against a bridge, railroad tunnel and radio tower.

Jan. 1996     Landslides
A large slump along Perkins Lane in Magnolia destroyed five homes.

Jan. 1995     Earthquake
A deep magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurred, centered under Robinson Point on Bainbridge Island. No damage was reported.

1993     Fire/Power<
A vault fire shut down power for most of Belltown (37 square blocks) for three days (84 hours).

July 1993     Terrorism
Two bombs exploded in Tacoma, causing some property damage. A group calling itself the American Front Skinheads was responsible. It was also suspected of bombing a gay bar on Capitol Hill.

Jan. 1993     Wind
'The Inaugural Day Storm.' Massive outages occurred in Seattle. Debris littered the road and traffic lights failed. Traffic came to a standstill.

May 1992      Civil Disorder
Small groups of people roamed the downtown streets smashing windows, lighting dumpster fires, and overturning cars. A large group went to Capitol Hill, set fires and attacked the East Precinct Police Headquarters. The fires provoked a citywide crisis, and suburban fire- fighters were called in to help. Another protest occurred in the University District. It was largely peaceful, but protesters did occupy I-5.

Dec. 1991     Snow
Snow closed Sea-Tac and brought traffic to a halt.

Nov. 1991     Wind
400,000 people lost power in the greater Seattle area.

Nov. 1990     Wind
The Old Mercer Island Bridge sank in a storm. The sinking was caused, in part, by construction waste in the floats under the bridge.

Winter 1990      Flood
Flooding occurred throughout Western Washington. Resulting sediment threatened the quality of the city's water supply and overwhelmed the Water Department.

Summer 1988     Fire/Power
Fire broke out in an underground electrical vault. Power went out for long periods throughout parts of downtown. Many downtown office buildings were unable to function, silencing a large part of the city's economy for days.

1988    Water Shortage
The level of Chester Morse Lake (Seattle's main reservoir) fell below its outlet. The Seattle Water Department responded by installing emergency pumps to extract water.

Aug. 1988     Water Shortage
The Tolt pipeline broke during a period of peak use. One hundred customers were threatened with loss of service or low water pressure in suburban areas. The public was asked to curtail all unnecessary water use. An 18% reduction was achieved. The outage lasted several days.

Nov. 1987     Water Shortage
The Tolt pipeline broke, temporarily dropping the supply reaching Seattle Water Department customers by 30%. 10,000 customers were affected for several hours. Water was rerouted through the Cedar River pipeline, placing additional demands on Chester Morse Lake. Voluntary restrictions dropped consumption by 5%.

Summer 1987     Water Shortage
Hot, dry summer weather increased water demand, causing a rapid drop in reservoir levels. Mandatory restrictions were adopted. Consumption dropped by 10%.

Jan. 1986    Flood
Local flooding occurred, mainly on Thornton and Longfellow Creeks.

Nov. 1985    Snow
Eight inches of snow fell on Thanksgiving Day.

1984    Terrorism
>Members of the Order, a racist Aryan Nations offshoot, robbed an armored car at Northgate mall. They fled to Whidbey Island and were subsequently killed or arrested in a confrontation with police.

1983    Landslide
Queen Anne slide closed Aurora Avenue for a day. Mud traveled as far as Lake Union.

Nov. 23, 1983     Wind
'Thanksgiving Day Storm' surprised forecasters, revealing that long warning periods cannot always be counted on. Downed trees were a leading cause of outages that left 75,000 without power in King County. The wind also damaged roofs and broke boats loose from their moorings.

Nov. 14, 1981    Wind
This storm caused power outages, closed bridges, and damaged buildings.

Feb. 13, 1981    Wind
Wind and lightning damaged at least one home and left 100,000 without power in Seattle and King County.

May, 1980    Volcano
Mt. St. Helen's erupted, causing only trace ash dustings in Seattle. However, event caused severe disruption in the eastern part of the state.

Feb. 13, 1979    Wind
The Hood Canal Bridge broke apart in a violent storm.

Nov. 1978     Flood
Local flooding occurred on Thornton and Longfellow Creeks.

1976/77    Water shortage
>Precipitation was 57% of normal in Seattle. Hydroelectric power generation dropped 47%. City Light was forced to purchase emergency power at highly inflated prices, leading to surcharges on electric bills.

Winter 1975     Flood
Flooding occurred throughout Western Washington. Resulting sediment threatened the quality of the city's water supply and overwhelmed the Water Department.

July, 1975     HazMat
A gasoline tanker crashed on the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The tank ruptured and gasoline flowed down the side of the Viaduct, where it was ignited by flares set coincidentally by a railroad crew. The resulting fire damaged several buildings, but there were no casualties.

Dec., 1974     Snow
Nearly 10 inches of snow fell, and the power went out in many parts of the City.

Jan., 1974     Landslides
West Seattle experienced multiple slides. Golden Gardens was also damaged. The mayor authorized assistance.

Apr., 1972     Tornado
Regional: Vancouver, WA. A tornado developed as part of a regional windstorm near Portland, Oregon. It moved across the Columbia River and killed six people, injuring 300 more and causing $6 million in damage.

Winter 1972     Landslides
Slides destroyed homes in Madrona causing about $1.8 million in damage. These slides were also probably connected with snowfall.

Jan. 1972     Snow
Nine inches of snow fell at Sea-Tac. Schools closed. This storm was connected to landslides later in the year.

Mar. 26, 1971     Wind
60 m.p.h. winds forced the closure of the Evergreen Point Bridge. The wind also ripped panels off the Seafirst building, forcing the Downtown Library to close. Two people died.

April, 1970     Fire
The Ozark Hotel burned, killing 20 people. After the fire, the City's codes changed to introduce new active fire suppression technology. Since the Ozark fire, there has not been another fire with double-digit fatalities.

Dec., 1969     Tornado
Regional: South King County. A tornado touched down in South King County, toppling signs and damaging buildings. It caused $500,000 in damage.

Jan. 28, 1969     Snow
>19 inches of snow accumulated at Sea-Tac. Nearly 46 inches fell during the month. See below.

Jan. 1969     Landslides
Large slides occurred on Magnolia Bluff.

Dec. 1968     Snow
10 inches of snow fell on New Year's Eve. Despite the chance for increased alcohol-related accidents, this did not occur.

1967     Water Shortage
The summer was dry. No significant rain fell from the third week in June to the first week in September.

Late 1960's     Civil Disorder
Anti-war Protests: Like many other cities, Seattle was the scene of anti-war protests. There were several large marches against the Vietnam War, but these were mostly peaceful. Most of them happened from 1969 to 1973. In the last large protest, a crowd closed I-5.

Racial Tension: The city was caught up in the disturbances of 1967. There were never any large scale disturbances, but the situation was dangerous. Several police officers were shot during this period.

Intergenerational Tension: Inter-generational tension flared up in 1969 when youths and police confronted each other in the University District for two nights.

Sept., 1966     Tornado
Tornado funnel was seen, but failed to touch down near Sea-Tac.

Dec. 1965     Landslides
SR 520 was threatened and one lane was closed. The Roanoke interchange was closed as well.

Apr. 1965     Earthquake
Magnitude 6.5. The epicenter was closer to the city than in the 1949 earthquake. Many ground failures occurred in the Alki and Harbor Island areas, but they were not as concentrated as in the 1949 quake. Six people were killed, mostly by falling debris. Damage was $50 million (1984 dollars).

1965/66     Water Shortage
The entire state was dry.

Aug., 1964     Tornado
A tornado funnel was observed during a rainstorm, but it failed to touch down.

10/12/1962     Wind
In this Columbus Day Storm, winds of 85 m.p.h. (equal to hurricane speed) hit the area. Damage was widespread. Forty-six people died, 53,000 houses were damaged, and the power went out in many areas of the state. It is not clear how much of this damage was in Seattle.

Sept., 1962     Tornado
The area's first confirmed tornado touched down west of Sand Point, severely damaging several homes. It picked up a carport and tossed it down onto the neighboring house. Everyone in the house was caught by surprise, but there were no casualties.

Spring, 1961     Landslides
Slides occurred in many areas of the City.

Winter 1956     Snow
There were 23 days of measurable snowfall - an usually large number for Seattle.

1952/53      Water Shortage
Puget Sound was hit with dry weather beginning in January and continuing through April. The lack of winter precipitation was a possible reason the state ordered power cuts for hydroelectric dams.

Aug. 13, 1951     Plane Crash
A B-50 bomber crashed into Sick's Brewing and Malting at 3100 Airport Way and then bounced into the Lester Apartments, destroying a third of the building. The crash killed eleven people - six in the plane and five on the ground. The location was about one mile north of King County International Airport just north of where the West Seattle Freeway and I-5 join.

Spring, 1950     Landslides
Many slides occurred in the spring. They may have been connected with heavy snowfall.

Jan. 13, 1950      Snow
21.4 inches of snow fell at Sea-Tac accompanied by 25-40 m.p.h. winds. 63.6 inches fell during the entire month at Sea-Tac.

Jul. 19, 1949      Plane Crash
A C-46 cargo plane crashed shortly after take-off, cutting power lines over wide areas and striking two buildings in Georgetown. It caught fire and exploded, setting six houses on fire. An additional three houses were damaged by flying debris. Five people on the ground and two passengers were killed. Thirty-three people were injured.

Apr. 1949     Earthquake
Magnitude 7.1. Centered near Olympia. It had a peak lateral acceleration of .3g. Eight people were killed, mostly from falling brick and the region suffered $150 million in damages (measured in 1984 dollars). In Seattle, its effects were felt mainly in the northern section of West Seattle and at the mouth of the Duwamish River.

Feb. 26, 1948     Landslides
Multiple slide events in Magnolia and Yesler Terrace.

Feb. 3, 1947      Landslides
Several children die when a slide destroys their home.

Feb. 1946     Earthquake
Magnitude 6.3. The earthquake's epicenter was under Puget Sound. Most of the damage in Seattle was limited to the Duwamish Valley and structures built on pilings.

1941-1945      Water Shortage
The war years were dry ones. Temperatures west of the Cascades were generally above normal.

Apr. 1945    Earthquake
Regional: North Bend. Magnitude 5.5. The earthquake's epicenter was under North Bend. Chimney and building facade damage occurred near the epicenter. In Cle Elum, a boy was hit by falling brick. No damage was reported in Seattle

Feb. 18, 1943     Plane Crash
A B-29 bomber came down short of Boeing Field and struck the Frye slaughterhouse. Eleven crewmembers, two firefighters, and nineteen people on the ground were killed. It caused a large fire, cut major cross-town power lines and released a large amount of ammonia, killing one fireman.

Jan. 1943     Snow
Total of 18.4 inches of snow fell in a week, closing schools and causing power outages.

1941     Wind

Dec. 1941     Landslides
Several slides occurred during December around Sand Point.

Nov. 1939      Earthquake
Regional: South Puget Sound. Magnitude 5.75. This earthquake was centered near Olympia, causing chimney and building facade damage near the epicenter. No damage was reported in Seattle.

1938     Water Shortage
At the time, it was a record dry growing season in Western Washington. The state studied the minimum stream flows necessary to preserve fish life. Stream flows are still an issue and complicate the regulation of reservoir levels.

Jan. 1934      Landslides
More than 400 Seattle residents battled landslides in ten areas of the city. These slides prompted numerous repair projects.

1930/31      Water Shortage
Moderately dry weather occurred in Western Washington.

1928/29      Water Shortage
This was a long drought that lasted nearly a year. Rain was 20% of normal. This had been the longest recorded drought in Washington to date. It exacerbated the 1930 drought.

Feb. 1923      Snow
16 inches of snow fell this month.

1921      Landslides
Six major slides occurred during one weekend.

Feb. 1919 General Strike
A general labor strike lasted for three days and passed without violent incident. After 1919, labor unrest declined.

Feb. 1, 1916      Snow
A single day snow record was set at 21.5 inches. The roof of the St. James Cathedral collapsed.

Jan. 7, 1914     Flood
Flooding in the Rainier Valley.

Jan. 1909     Earthquake
Regional. The magnitude 6.0 earthquake was centered in the San Juan Islands.

Jan., 1893     Snow
45.5 inches of snow fell in less than two weeks.

1889      Fire
The 1889 fire consumed 60 acres downtown. Nobody was hurt. It happened right before a big economic boom, enabling Seattle to totally rebuild the downtown within eighteen months - and do it with masonry. This experience demonstrates how complete a recovery can be given the right circumstances.

Feb. 1886     Civil Disorder
A mob attempted to evict Chinese residents from the city. The mayor called out the militia to prevent the expulsion. The mob resisted. Fighting erupted and the troops fired on the crowd, killing one person and wounding four.

Dec. 1872     Earthquake
Regional: North Cascades. A magnitude 7.4 shallow quake shook the North Cascades, triggering a huge landslide that temporarily blocked the Columbia River.

Late 19^th Cent.     Flood
Early in Seattle's history, low-lying areas near downtown and at the mouth of the Duwamish flooded. This prompted the construction of landfills and a drainage system downtown, and the channeling of the Duwamish.