Tsunamis generated by the 1964 earthquake (and their subsequent damage, loss of life, etc.) were recorded throughout the Pacific (Lander and Lockridge, 1989). This was the most disastrous tsunami to hit the U.S. West Coast and British Columbia in Canada.LASKAN EARTHQUAKES and TSUNAMIGENESIS. The great Alaskan earthquake of 1964 was the largest earthquake in North America and the second largest ever recorded (largest occurred in Chile in 1960).