1994 Northridge Earthquake Facts: You Won't Believe What You're Reading!

On January 17, 1994, an earthquake erupted at 4:31 a.m. local time across west San Fernando Valley, in Los Angeles, Southern California.

Los Angeles residents woke up to a nightmarish wilderness. However, January 17 is the birthday of Martin Luther King and is a declared federal holiday, which helped to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries, because the traffic was light so early in the morning, and most of the non-residential buildings were empty.

The surface wave recorded on the Richter scale showed a magnitude of 6.8 and, within an hour, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan declared a state of emergency. Californian Governor Pete Wilson also declared an emergency, and so the area was able to seek state resources.

The Northridge quake was declared a national disaster for Los Angeles County by President Bill Clinton the following afternoon.

Some scientists attributed the cause of the Northridge earthquake to an overriding movement between crustal blocks, which caused a fracture on the thrust fault in the San Fernando Valley, causing the Northridge earthquake.

The epicenter of the quake was in the neighborhood near Northridge, a suburban region lying 20 mi (32 km) northwest of downtown LA. The major shock lasted for 10-20 seconds, and the deadly Northbridge quake sparked fires that shook the area around 30 mi (48 km) in diameter.

It affected the region from Northridge, California, passing through southern Ventura and northern Los Angeles counties and tremors were felt as far as Las Vegas and San Diego.

The Impact On Human Life

AP research showed the death toll stood at 57 people, with more than 9,000 injured, and 125,000 people displaced from their homes.

And figures show the county coroner was counting heart attacks that were five times the usual number of cardiac fatalities on the day of the deadly earthquake.

As well as these fatalities, about 16 people staying at the Northridge Meadows Apartments died as the top two floors collapsed on the downstairs parking garage. In total, 33 people died after falling from buildings.

As well as the death toll, 5,400 mobile homes were destroyed. And more than 21 premature babies were airlifted from the ICU to other hospitals.

Within a short period, it was reported that LA firefighters managed to control almost 466 blazes, despite suffering significantly less water pressure caused by the damaged mains. While rescuers searched the rubble for casualties, thousands of residents went without water and electricity. Los Angeles took immediate steps to restore utility services, establish shelters, and assist traffic jams.

Many commercial buildings, freeways, parking lots, and properties were enormously damaged, with more than 82,000 structures reportedly destroyed in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, and San Bernardino. The powerful earthquake demolished Santa Monica Freeway, and the recovery team found hundreds of cars under the rubble of Interstate-5. 

According to the Occupational Employment Statistics program (OES), more than 681,000 residents and businesses applied for federal disaster aid. Until Hurricane Katrina, the Northridge earthquake was the most expensive U.S. natural disaster to ever happen.

According to the state Office of Emergency Management (OEM), almost 48,500 people were cut off from water services, and about 20,000 people went without gas. The wreckages included 90,000 damaged and destroyed homes, flattened buildings, and public offices. The Southern Pacific freight train derailed due to the impact of the earthquake spraying sulfuric acid.

The earthquake-resistant steel-frame buildings and reinforced concrete underwent significant cracking, and nine hospitals and parking structures were destroyed. Leaks from the surface of the epicenter disrupted power systems, the water service, telephone lines, and the cable network. More than 212 bridges were damaged, and seven freeway bridges collapsed in the Ventura Los Angeles Metropolitan region due to the earthquake.

How The Earthquake Made People Homeless

The main water pipelines broke, and streets were severely flooded. The earthquake's disruptive seismic waves released energy which damaged the water systems and caused 1,500 pipeline failures.

Due to the breakage in water pipes across the region, the authorities advised people to boil drinking water. Significant fires erupted due to heavy damage to the gas lines. Clouds of smoke accumulated around LA, and the area remained without power, plunging many places in the San Fernando Valley into darkness.

Due to highway overpass failures, the normal functioning of Los Angeles was affected. There was panic among residents and they preferred to be out of their homes; residents slept in their cars and on nearby lawns, fearing another repeated impact. As the water trucks rolled in, residents kept bottles and containers to store water.

Thousands of San Fernando Valley locals became homeless and were worried about their future safety. The California National Guard was summoned to take control of the situation and support the recovery processes. However, within less than six hours from the initial earthquake, all fires caused due to short circuits in apartment complexes, buildings, and fire-prone areas were well controlled.

Economic Damage

Economic damage includes the verifiable losses that include non-usage of properties, impact on past and future earnings, repair and replacement, the affected domestic services, and the loss accumulated due to business opportunities and employment failure.

Some scientists say the Northridge earthquake caused the worst destruction in the U.S. since the San Francisco earthquake in 1906.

The federal government lost about $529.2 million, the state lost $163 million, and the local government lost $164.4 million due to reduced tax revenues.

It has been reported that the Northridge earthquake was the costliest natural disaster ever in the history of the nation, and the third-largest economic loss ever caused by a natural disaster worldwide.

The financial loss is estimated at $49 billion, while property damage is estimated at $20 billion, and nearly $6 billion was lost due to global business interruptions from the five-county Los Angeles region.

Almost 13,773 people lost their jobs in Los Angeles County, and 11,983 lost their jobs in the other four counties.

Damage To Government Property

The earthquake caused huge environmental and infrastructure damage. Around 40,000 structures, including Anaheim Stadium, were damaged across LA and several other counties. The Northridge earthquake caused freeways to crumble as the columns supporting the overpasses collapsed beneath the highway. Golden State freeways, Simi Valley, and Santa Monica were among the significant overpass collapses.

Nearly seven major highway bridges were shattered or severely damaged. Trains running on certain sections of the Antelope Valley and Santa Monica freeways rolled off their tracks, causing heavy damage. Fire exploded as gas mains ruptured, and multi-story buildings were damaged heavily.

Around 11 hospitals were forced to shut, causing overburdening in other hospitals. Historical structures, like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and other apartment buildings, were beyond repair.

Damage caused at California State University Northridge's (CSUN) campus was substantial, with large structures crumbling. Subsequent fires blazed, causing damage, and a science building burnt down. However, most school buildings, which are required by California law to be reinforced, survived to an extent.

There were positives to take from the crisis. Evaluators used the latest technology to identify loss valuation, including geographic info systems, the local state and federal recovery programs, and the insurance companies' data.

GPS (Global Positioning Satellite system) was used for the first time to locate vital data. It is assumed that if the earthquake had occurred closer to downtown, or if the magnitude was slightly higher, the losses could have reached more than $100 billion, and many more would people have been injured or killed.

Some scientists say California undergoes around 100 minor earthquakes a day and the last one occurred in July, but the last deadly quake was in 2014, with two fatalities. The 1994 Northbridge earthquake enabled the state to discover more about its mechanisms and effects, so it is teaching us valuable lessons even today.