I'm not an earthquake specialist, but I am a geoscientist by training, and have lived for much of my life in earthquake country. I'm interested in this stuff and have studied it extensively. Although I wasn't in Alaska in 1964, I have talked to many people who were. I have a couple of comments.

1. What to do during an earthquake: Drop, Cover, and Hold On! During earthquakes, drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy desk or table, and hold on to it firmly. Be prepared to move with it until the shaking stops. Do not try to run outside. Lots of people get killed or injured when by bricks from falling chimneys and other stuff coming down, as they run outside. It seems counter intuitive, but in most cases you are safer by getting under something sturdy and staying put. Note that a big quake can have a lot of horizontal movement, and that table you are under can tend to walk across the floor, hence the advice to hold so you stay under it. A really strong quake can make it hard to walk, let alone run. Get under something and stay there until it stops!

2. As hikermor noted up thread, wood frame houses tend to do pretty well in quakes. Because of the way walls are constructed they tend to resist that horizontal shaking. The wood and nails also give a bit of flex. A wood house may be extensively damaged, but it is unlikely to fall down on you.

3. Brick, masonry, stone, or cement block buildings don't do well. Unless they are extensively reinforced with steel, that lateral shaking tends to make them fall into a pile of rubble. However, you are still better hiding under something, than trying to get out as the building falls down on you.

4. As also mentioned by hikermor, stuff falling down inside your house can also be deadly. A falling book case, china hutch, etc can be bad. Again, get under something sturdy! You can reduce damage by securing those objects ahead of time. There are simple kits available to make it easy to secure them to a wall stud.

5. Know how to shut off your gas and electricity. As noted above, though your house may not fall down, gas lines, etc may be broken.

6. Be prepared to stay put after the quake. Briges may be out, roads blocked by landslides, etc. Camping out in your yard is probably a better choice than trying to travel.