01/17/2024
How many of you remember?
How many of you were prepared?
17 January is also Benjamin Franklin day (his birthday).
One of his sayings –
Failure to Prepare is Preparing to Fail.
If another major earthquake happened today,
would you Be Prepared?
The question is not IF something is going to happen, rather
WHEN something is going to happen – and What.
And will you be prepared?
30 years ago.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake occurred on 17 January
at 4:30:55 a.m. PST and had its epicenter in Reseda.
It had a duration of approximately 10–20 seconds.
The blind thrust earthquake had a moment magnitude (Mw) of 6.7,
which produced ground acceleration that was the highest ever
instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America,
with strong ground motion felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada,
about 220 miles from the epicenter.
Two 6.0 Mw aftershocks occurred, the first about one minute
after the initial event and the second approximately 11 hours later,
the strongest of several thousand aftershocks in all.
The death toll was 57, with more than 8,700 injured.
An unusual effect of the Northridge earthquake was an outbreak
of coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) in Ventura County.
This respiratory disease is caused by inhaling airborne spores of fungus.
The 203 cases reported, of which three resulted in fatalities,
constituted roughly 10 times the normal rate in the initial eight weeks.
This was the first report of such an outbreak following an earthquake,
and it is believed that the spores were carried in large clouds of dust
created by seismically triggered landslides.
Most of the cases occurred immediately downwind of the landslides.
Eleven hospitals suffered structural damage and were damaged
or rendered unusable.
Not only were they unable to serve their local neighborhoods,
but they also had to transfer out their inpatient populations,
which further increased the burden on nearby hospitals that were still operational.
As a result, the state legislature passed a law requiring all hospitals
in California to ensure that their acute care units and emergency rooms
would be in earthquake-resistant buildings by 01 January 2005.
Most were unable to meet this deadline and only managed to achieve
compliance in 2008 or 2009.
Date: 17 January 17, 1994
Origin time: 4:30:55 a.m. PST
Duration: 10–20 seconds
Magnitude: 6.7 Mw
Depth: 11.31 miles
Type: Blind thrust
Areas affected: Greater Los Angeles Area, So Cal
Total damage: $13–$44 billion
Max. intensity: IX (Violent)
Peak acceleration: 1.82g horizontal
Casualties: 57 killed and more than 8,700 injured
– from the 25 year anniversary.
Here is a great interview from Dr. Lucy Jones
about how far we have come, and what we need to do still,
since the Northridge earthquake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PMVRL6jDT4
– and from this 30 year anniversary.
There are 60 pictures of the event and aftermath.
https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2024/01/14/photos-northridge-earthquake-30th-anniversary-of-the-costliest-earthquake-disaster-in-u-s-history/?utm_medium=browser_notifications&utm_source=pushly&utm_content=30%20years%20since%20Northridge%20earthquake&utm_campaign=pasadenastarnews.com-4087952
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How many of you remember?How many of you were prepared? 17 January is also Benjamin Franklin day (his birthday).One of his sayings –Failure to Prepare is Preparing to Fail. If another major earthquake happened today,would you Be Prepared? The question is not IF something is going to happen, rather...
