Glendale (PDF) - Hazard Mitigation Web Portal - State of California

Natural Hazards Mitigation PlanCity of Glendale, CaliforniaSection 6 – EarthquakesTable 6-2: Historical Earthquakes in the Southern California Regionwith Magnitude > 51769 Los Angeles Basin 1916 Tejon Pass Region1800 San Diego Region 1918 San Jacinto1812 Wrightwood 1923 San Bernardino Region1812 Santa Barbara Channel 1925 Santa Barbara1827 Los Angeles Region 1933 Long Beach1855 Los Angeles Region 1941 Carpinteria1857 Great Fort Tejon Earthquake 1952 Kern County1858 San Bernardino Region 1954 West of Wheeler Ridge1862 San Diego Region 1971 San Fernando1892 San Jacinto or Elsinore Fault 1973 Point Mugu1893 Pico Canyon 1986 North Palm Springs1894 Lytle Creek Region 1987 Whittier Narrows1894 San Diego Region 1992 Landers1899 Lytle Creek region 1992 Big Bear1899 San Jacinto and Hemet 1994 Northridge1907 San Bernardino region 1999 Hector Mine1910 Glen Ivy Hot SpringsLong Beach Earthquake of 1933This M w 6.4 earthquake occurred on March 10, 1933, at 5:54 in the afternoon. The location of theearthquake’s epicenter has been re-evaluated, and determined to have occurred approximately 3miles south of present-day Huntington Beach. However, it caused extensive damage in Long Beach,hence its name. The earthquake occurred on the Newport-Inglewood fault, a right-lateral strike slipfault that extends across the western portion of the Los Angeles basin. The Newport-Inglewoodfault did not rupture the surface during this earthquake, but substantial liquefaction-induced damagewas reported. The earthquake caused 120 deaths, and over $50 million in property damage (Wood,1933).Most of the damaged buildings were of unreinforced masonry, and many school buildings weredestroyed. Fortunately, children were not present in the classrooms at that time, otherwise, thedeath toll would have been much higher. This earthquake led to the passage of the Field Act, whichgave the Division of the State Architect authority and responsibility for approving design andsupervising construction of public schools. Building codes were also improved.San Fernando (Sylmar) Earthquake of 1971This M w 6.6 earthquake occurred on the San Fernando fault zone, the western-most segment of theSierra Madre fault, on February 9, 1971, at 6:00 in the morning. The surface rupture caused by thisearthquake was nearly 12 miles long, and occurred in the Sylmar-San Fernando area, just a few milesnorthwest of Glendale. The maximum slip measured at the surface was nearly 6 feet.The earthquake caused over $500 million in property damage and 65 deaths. Most of the deathsoccurred when the Veteran's Administration Hospital collapsed. Several other hospitals, includingthe Olive View Community Hospital in Sylmar suffered severe damage. Newly constructed freewayoverpasses also collapsed, in damage scenes similar to those that occurred 23 years later in the 1994Northridge earthquake. Loss of life could have been much greater had the earthquake struck at abusier time of day. Thirty-one buildings in Glendale were so severely damaged that they had to bedemolished, and approximately 3,250 masonry chimneys in the City collapsed. The total buildingloss in Glendale as a result of this earthquake was estimated at more than $2 million (Oakeshott,2006 PAGE 6 - 11