How long was the northridge earthquake 1994

Greater Los Angeles area residents were shaken out of their beds by the most severe urban temblor since the devastating San Francisco earthquake. The initial Northridge quake shook with a staggering Richter magnitude of 6. The earthquake occurred along a "blind" thrust fault, close to the San Andreas fault. The outcome resulted in one of the most financially destructive natural disasters in American history.

The Northridge quake also claimed 72 lives and inflicted 9, injuries, where 1, of the injuries were considered severe. Thousands of aftershocks devastated already weathered buildings, trapping many people below the rubble of parking structures and freeway overpasses.

As one of the costliest natural disasters in U. The damage Occurring To make matters worse, a "blind" thrust fault quake — a fault that does not extend to the surface — is nearly impossible to predict. The Northridge earthquake produced the strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in a North American urban setting. No, California is not going to fall into the ocean. There is nowhere for California to fall, however, Los Angeles and San Francisco will one day be adjacent to one another!

Tornadoes in California are not unheard of. The state averages a dozen or so tornadoes per year, most of them quick-hitting and weak. Most form in the Central Valley, where low-level southerly winds are accelerated up the length of the valley.

Storms in California do occasionally rival those of Tornado Alley. Although Los Angeles County has never experienced the monsters that terrorize the midwest, tornadoes, albeit smaller ones, are not unknown here.

Since , at least 42 tornadoes were reported to have occurred in Los Angeles County. Most were quite small, covering short distances and doing little or no damage. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history was the Great Hurricane of , which resulted in 22,—27, fatalities. In recent years, the deadliest hurricane was Hurricane Mitch of , with at least 11, deaths attributed to it.

Originally Answered: What would happen if a fighter jet flew through a tornado at supersonic speeds? It would be ripped apart. This debris would rip apart the plane quickly. A plane attempting to fly through a tornado would encounter very sudden and violent changes in wind speed and direction that would likely tear it apart. The Northridge quake, named after the San Fernando Valley community near its epicenter, was the costliest in U.

Damage was widespread, as buildings, shopping centers, parking lots and portions of major freeways all collapsed. At least 57 people perished, while thousands more were injured. At the Northridge Meadows apartment complex, 16 people were killed, all of whom lived on the first floor, when the three-story, stucco-and-wood structure fell down on them.

A motorcycle police officer died when his vehicle plunged off of a just-collapsed section of freeway. The fact that the quake occurred on a federal holiday Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in the early morning hours when most people were home in bed was critical in reducing the number of casualties. Another important factor was that the building and safety codes in Los Angeles had been strengthened following a powerful quake in the San Fernando Valley in also called the Sylmar Earthquake.

In response, the state created the California Earthquake Authority as a publicly managed, primarily privately funded organization providing basic residential earthquake coverage.

But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. On April 18, , an earthquake and subsequent fires devastated San Francisco, California, leaving more than 3, people dead and destroying more than 28, buildings.