Strong quake shakes Southern California
1:00 AM
Posted: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Councilman Dennis Zine was rocking the foundations of a proposed trash fee hike when the foundations of City Hall started rocking Tuesday.
"And there goes the earthquake -- earthquake, earthquake, earthquake!" Zine declared in a seismic play-by-play to the council chamber. "We've got an earthquake. Still happening. We've got an earthquake. The building is rolling."
Zine temporarily yielded to colleague Greig Smith who reminded everyone that the 1920s-era landmark had been retrofitted with seismic safety devices called base isolators which he described as "huge shock absorbers."
"So this building is very safe, so don't panic," Smith said.
Noting the building was still rolling, Zine returned to business: "Well with those earthquaking comments I'm going to vote no on this."
The attitude was much the same across greater Los Angeles as the region swayed with energy of the strongest earthquake to strike a populated area of Southern California since the 1994 Northridge quake. Millions paused to take stock of the situation, but with only minor damage and injuries reported, life quickly returned to normal.
Strongly felt but considered moderate, the magnitude-5.4 jolt struck at 11:42 a.m., centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near the San Bernardino County city of Chino Hills. It was felt as far east as Las Vegas.
Dozens of aftershocks followed, the largest a magnitude-3.8.
The magnitude-5.9 Whittier Narrows quake in 1987 was the last big shake centered in the same region as Tuesday's tremor. Scientists were trying to determine which fault ruptured Tuesday, but they believe it is part of the same system of faults. The 1987 quake heavily damaged older buildings and houses in communities east of Los Angeles.
As strongly as it was felt, Tuesday's quake was far less powerful than the deadly magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake that toppled bridges and buildings on Jan. 17, 1994. That was the last damaging temblor in Southern California, though not the biggest. A 7.1 quake struck the desert in 1999.
"People have forgotten, I think, what earthquakes feel like," said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. "So I think we should probably look at it as an earthquake drill. ... It's a drill for the `Big One' that will be coming some day."
The heaviest shaking was northwest of the epicenter in the vicinity of suburban Diamond Bar, said Thomas Heaton, director of the earthquake engineering and research laboratory at Caltech. He said all buildings constructed in the region since the 1930s should withstand the kind of shaking felt Tuesday.
The earthquake had about 1 percent of the energy of the Northridge quake, he said.
Merchandise toppled from store shelves and bricks fell from walls of old-style buildings, local television stations reported.
The state Office of Emergency Services in Sacramento received scattered reports of minor infrastructure damage in the greater Los Angeles area.
"I thank God there have not been any reports of serious injuries or damage to properties," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a televised press conference.
The OES said damage included broken water mains and gas lines. Southern California Gas Co., however, said there were no reports of damage to the transmission and distribution system in its 20,000-square-mile territory. OES spokesman Kelly Huston said its report involved minor leaks in homes or complaints of natural gas smells.
Minor structural damage was reported throughout Los Angeles, along with five minor injuries and people stuck in elevators, said City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, serving as acting mayor. She said there was flooding in one department store.
The California Department of Transportation and California Highway Patrol were assessing freeways to check for damage. Traffic appeared to be flowing easily, however.
The jolt caused a fire but no injuries at a Southern California Edison electrical substation in La Habra, about 12 miles southwest of the epicenter, spokesman Paul Klein said. Damage there and to other equipment led to some power outages in Chino Hills, Chino, Diamond Bar and Pomona, he said.
Near the epicenter, all the customers of a Chino Hills Starbucks ran outside and bags of coffee beans fell off shelves, said worker Jamie Saleh, 24.
"It was very, very strong. It was rolling and ... there wasn't a pause. it came on really strong and just kept going."
Chino Hills was incorporated in 1991, so much of the construction is newer and built to modern safety standards, said city spokeswoman Denise Cattern. She said there were no reports of harm in the city of 80,000, although cell phone service in the area was disrupted. The biggest employer in town, the school district, is out of session.
Chino Valley Independent Fire District Capt. Jeremy Ault was in his office when the earthquake hit.
"We were wondering how bad it was going to be for the poor people at the epicenter and then came to find out it was us," Ault said. "Much to everyone's surprise, there's not a lot of calls for damage or injuries."
Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds, and workers quickly evacuated some office buildings.
Banker Talar Sarkis, 30, was on the 29th floor of the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower. She got under her desk then took stairs down because the elevators were shut down.
"I got into panic mode a little bit," Sarkis said. "No thoughts, really. I was just thinking, I want to get downstairs."
"I'm still shaking. My knees are wobbling. I thought the building might collapse," said Rosana Martinez, 50, of El Monte, a fifth-floor employee of California National Bank in downtown Los Angeles.
Disneyland visitor Clint Hendrickson, 32, said he was in the Golden Horseshoe theater watching a show when the temblor hit.
"The ground moved and the chandelier started shaking," he said. "We are from Texas and we thought it was part of the show, until people started yelling, 'Get under the tables."'
"And there goes the earthquake -- earthquake, earthquake, earthquake!" Zine declared in a seismic play-by-play to the council chamber. "We've got an earthquake. Still happening. We've got an earthquake. The building is rolling."
Zine temporarily yielded to colleague Greig Smith who reminded everyone that the 1920s-era landmark had been retrofitted with seismic safety devices called base isolators which he described as "huge shock absorbers."
"So this building is very safe, so don't panic," Smith said.
Noting the building was still rolling, Zine returned to business: "Well with those earthquaking comments I'm going to vote no on this."
The attitude was much the same across greater Los Angeles as the region swayed with energy of the strongest earthquake to strike a populated area of Southern California since the 1994 Northridge quake. Millions paused to take stock of the situation, but with only minor damage and injuries reported, life quickly returned to normal.
Strongly felt but considered moderate, the magnitude-5.4 jolt struck at 11:42 a.m., centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near the San Bernardino County city of Chino Hills. It was felt as far east as Las Vegas.
Dozens of aftershocks followed, the largest a magnitude-3.8.
The magnitude-5.9 Whittier Narrows quake in 1987 was the last big shake centered in the same region as Tuesday's tremor. Scientists were trying to determine which fault ruptured Tuesday, but they believe it is part of the same system of faults. The 1987 quake heavily damaged older buildings and houses in communities east of Los Angeles.
As strongly as it was felt, Tuesday's quake was far less powerful than the deadly magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake that toppled bridges and buildings on Jan. 17, 1994. That was the last damaging temblor in Southern California, though not the biggest. A 7.1 quake struck the desert in 1999.
"People have forgotten, I think, what earthquakes feel like," said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. "So I think we should probably look at it as an earthquake drill. ... It's a drill for the `Big One' that will be coming some day."
The heaviest shaking was northwest of the epicenter in the vicinity of suburban Diamond Bar, said Thomas Heaton, director of the earthquake engineering and research laboratory at Caltech. He said all buildings constructed in the region since the 1930s should withstand the kind of shaking felt Tuesday.
The earthquake had about 1 percent of the energy of the Northridge quake, he said.
Merchandise toppled from store shelves and bricks fell from walls of old-style buildings, local television stations reported.
The state Office of Emergency Services in Sacramento received scattered reports of minor infrastructure damage in the greater Los Angeles area.
"I thank God there have not been any reports of serious injuries or damage to properties," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a televised press conference.
The OES said damage included broken water mains and gas lines. Southern California Gas Co., however, said there were no reports of damage to the transmission and distribution system in its 20,000-square-mile territory. OES spokesman Kelly Huston said its report involved minor leaks in homes or complaints of natural gas smells.
Minor structural damage was reported throughout Los Angeles, along with five minor injuries and people stuck in elevators, said City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, serving as acting mayor. She said there was flooding in one department store.
The California Department of Transportation and California Highway Patrol were assessing freeways to check for damage. Traffic appeared to be flowing easily, however.
The jolt caused a fire but no injuries at a Southern California Edison electrical substation in La Habra, about 12 miles southwest of the epicenter, spokesman Paul Klein said. Damage there and to other equipment led to some power outages in Chino Hills, Chino, Diamond Bar and Pomona, he said.
Near the epicenter, all the customers of a Chino Hills Starbucks ran outside and bags of coffee beans fell off shelves, said worker Jamie Saleh, 24.
"It was very, very strong. It was rolling and ... there wasn't a pause. it came on really strong and just kept going."
Chino Hills was incorporated in 1991, so much of the construction is newer and built to modern safety standards, said city spokeswoman Denise Cattern. She said there were no reports of harm in the city of 80,000, although cell phone service in the area was disrupted. The biggest employer in town, the school district, is out of session.
Chino Valley Independent Fire District Capt. Jeremy Ault was in his office when the earthquake hit.
"We were wondering how bad it was going to be for the poor people at the epicenter and then came to find out it was us," Ault said. "Much to everyone's surprise, there's not a lot of calls for damage or injuries."
Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds, and workers quickly evacuated some office buildings.
Banker Talar Sarkis, 30, was on the 29th floor of the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower. She got under her desk then took stairs down because the elevators were shut down.
"I got into panic mode a little bit," Sarkis said. "No thoughts, really. I was just thinking, I want to get downstairs."
"I'm still shaking. My knees are wobbling. I thought the building might collapse," said Rosana Martinez, 50, of El Monte, a fifth-floor employee of California National Bank in downtown Los Angeles.
Disneyland visitor Clint Hendrickson, 32, said he was in the Golden Horseshoe theater watching a show when the temblor hit.
"The ground moved and the chandelier started shaking," he said. "We are from Texas and we thought it was part of the show, until people started yelling, 'Get under the tables."'
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
