The most damaging earthquake in state history strikes on a weekday, shortly before noon.
In downtown Seattle, the violent lurching knocks pedestrians off their feet. Drivers struggle to hold their cars on the road. A 14-mile rupture splits the ground from Elliott Bay to Issaquah, with one side thrusting six feet into the air.
By the time the shaking stops – 30 sickening seconds later – 1,600 people are dead or dying. More than 24,000 are injured as brick buildings crumble, freeway bridges buckle, ferry terminals slump into the water and the Alaskan Way Viaduct collapses.