Photos from Northridge, the 1994 Earthquake that shook Los Angeles

on the morning of January 17th 1994 a powerful earthquake struck the city of Northridge in Los Angeles California measuring magnitude 6.7 on the RoR scale this was the strongest earthquake to hit the Los Angeles area since the 1971 San Fernando Valley Quake the Northridge Earthquake struck at 4:30 in the morning catching most residents still asleep in their beds the shaking was intense with the strongest ground acceleration reaching over 1.8 times the force of gravity buildings throughout the San Fernando Valley suffered major damage with numerous apartment complexes and other structures collapsing entirely tens of thousands were left without power water or gas service in the end 57 people lost their lives and over 8,000 were injured as a result of the devastating Tremor one of the most dramatic impacts of the earthquake was the collapse of major freeways and bridges the Santa Monica freeway a vital artery for Los Angeles commuters was severely damaged snarling traffic for months the new Hall Pass interchange where Interstate 5 meets State Route 14 also suffered a catastrophic failure killing one police officer who fell 40 ft when the roadway gave way hospitals in the region were also hit hard with 11 facilities sustaining major structural damage this forced the evacuation of thousands of patients putting an enormous strain on the medical system many of these hospitals would remain closed for months as they underwent extensive repairs and reinforcements to meet new earthquake safety standards the campus of California State University Northridge was located Just 4 miles from the earthquake's epicenter and suffered extensive damage across its 58 buildings classrooms Laboratories and administrative offices were rendered unusable forcing the university to delay the start of the spring semester by 2 weeks over $400 million would ultimately be required to repair the sea Sun campus in the immediate aftermath heroic search and rescue efforts were undertaken to locate and assist those trapped in the rubble firefighters police and volunteers work tirelessly often at Great personal risk to pull survivors from collapsed Billings the damage was so widespread that it took days to fully assess the scope of the destruction and the number of casualties the Northridge Earthquake had a profound and lasting impact on Los Angeles entire neighborhoods were devastated and the Region's vital transportation and utility infrastructure was crippled the psychological trauma experienced by residents would linger for years however this disaster also spurred important advancements in earthquake preparedness and building codes to better protect protect against future seismic events in the decades since the Northridge Quake California has made significant strides in earthquake safety the Lings are now constructed to much higher standards in critical infrastructure like hospitals and freeways have been reinforced to withstand powerful Tremors while the memory of that faithful m in 1994 Remains the city of Los Angeles has shown its resilience in the face of Nature's Fury