What is the biggest earthquake in the Los Angeles area?
‘Jaded’ Californians see quakes as part of life 29 Jul 2008 22:44:45 GMT Source: Reuters By Bernie Woodall and Nichola Groom LOS ANGELES, July 29 (Reuters) – It was the Los Angeles area’s biggest earthquake in nearly 15 years, but for many the tremor felt like business as usual. A 5.4-magnitude temblor at lunchtime on Tuesday sent office workers streaming from their downtown Los Angeles high-rises and led many to reach for their phones to check on friends and relatives. But after it was all over, with only minor injuries and damage reported, many Southern California residents simply shrugged it off. “We’re jaded earthquake people, we’ve been through it all,” said attorney Linda Hsu, 35, who walked down 38 flights of stairs from her downtown office following the quake. “Because we live in Southern California, we are all used to it.” Hsu’s colleague, attorney Stephanie Brie, 28, said she was able to tell quickly the earthquake was not big enough to put them in any great danger. “While it
The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 20 seconds.[1] The earthquake had a “strong” moment magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was one of the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America.[2] Seventy-two deaths were attributed to the earthquake, with more than 9,000 injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.[3] Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
Earthquake intensities during the 1857 earthquake (M 8¼) plotted by Agnew and Sieh. Roman numerals indicate Modified Mercalli intensifies. Open circles represent locations with reported intensity, closed circles represent locations where earthquake was not felt. The extent of surface fault rupture along the San Andreas fault for the 1857 earthquake is shown. Map courtesy Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. The California earthquake of January 9, 1857, was one of the largest earthquakes to have happened in California in historical times (about the last 200 years). This event, which is estimated to have been about M 8¼ on the Richter scale, occurred along a segment of the San Andreas fault that extends from near Parkfield in central California to near San Bernardino. The earthquake was accompanied by surface fault rupture along this segment of the fault; strike slip displacements measured up to 9.5 meters in some locations. Ground motions during the event were variously rep
