The So-Called Golden StateA look at the darker side of the state known as much as much for sunshine and red carpets as it is for scandals and earthquakes.
California has always been a hotbed of seismic activity, largely thanks to the over 15,000 fault lines found throughout the state. Luckily for Californians, only about 500 of those faults are active today, but hardly any area of the state is completely immune to earthquakes. The majority of Californians live within 30 miles of an active fault line, and the likelihood of a powerful earthquake in the coming decades is extremely high. The highest magnitude earthquakes in California's history have caused death and mass destruction, often costing the state millions in repairs.
You don't have to look far in California's earthquake history to see just how bad a quake can get. Dozens of earthquakes have been documented in the last few hundred years, and many of them have been deadly. If we're going to be prepared for the "big one," it's important to understand what happened during the worst California earthquakes on record and which places are most vulnerable. This list catalogs the worst California quakes and might shed some light on how to prepare for earthquakes of the future.
Date: April 18, 1906 Location: San Francisco Magnitude: 7.9 Casualties: 700 - 3,000 Injuries: 225,000
The earthquake that tore through San Francisco in 1906 is still considered one of the most devastating in recorded history. Roughly 28,000 buildings were destroyed as a result of the quake and subsequent fire that burned through the city. Most of the damage was done by the fires, as the quake destroyed water lines and left firefighters with no way of mitigating the damage. Damages totaled about $400 million in 1906 dollars.
The event created a refugee crisis not often seen in American history. Roughly 250,000 people lost their homes in the quake, making reconstruction a top priority for Californians. Amazingly, the city bounced back relatively quickly and even saw a population increase in the coming years. Due to the massive destruction, the city had to be rebuilt from the ground up, which created a more elegant, logically designed structure that attracted new residents.
Date: March 10, 1933 Location: Long Beach Magnitude: 6.4 Casualties: 120 Injuries: More than 500
Originating at the Newport-Inglewood fault zone, this massive quake left over 100 people dead and caused $50 million in damages in the city of Long Beach. The earthquake was so devastating in part because of the shoddy construction work on local buildings. Many of them had no reinforcements to deal with seismic activity, so total collapses were common. Some of the many buildings to collapse were the city's public schools, which led to the enactment of the Field Act. The new law gave authorities more oversight in the safe construction of public school facilities.
Date: February 9, 1971 Location: San Fernando Valley Magnitude: 6.5 Casualties: 64 Injuries: More than 2,500
Often referred to as the Sylmar earthquake, this event originated in the San Fernando fault zone. The quake did about $500 million worth of damages and took dozens of lives, mainly when the Veterans Administration Hospital in Sylmar collapsed. Many of the city's brand-new highways also suffered catastrophic collapses. The earthquake created a 12-mile rupture along the Earth's surface and saw slips up to 6 feet high. California responded by updating its building codes and passing the Alquist Priolo Special Studies Zone Act, which aimed to stop new construction from occurring near known fault lines.
Date: October 17, 1989 Location: Santa Cruz Magnitude: 6.9 Casualties: 63 Injuries: 3,757
This earthquake's epicenter was at Loma Prieta peak, 9 miles northeast of the city of Santa Cruz. The wildly expensive earthquake cost the state of California $6 billion from only 15 seconds of seismic activity. San Francisco took a lot of damage during the quake, including collapsed highways and a destroyed marina. The largest death toll came from the collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct. The earthquake was the strongest to hit San Francisco since the infamous 1906 earthquake and led the state to retrofit all bridges to make them more resistant to seismic activity.
Date: January 17, 1994 Location: San Fernando Valley Magnitude: 6.7 Casualties: nearly 30 Injuries: 8,700
This earthquake is unique because the fault line responsible had been undiscovered until this incident. The disaster caused $20 billion in damages, and many buildings and freeways collapsed as a result. The earthquake began in the wee hours of Martin Luther King Jr. day, catching many sleeping people off guard.
Date: December 8, 1812 Location: San Juan Capistrano Magnitude: 7.5 Casualties: 40 Injuries: Unknown
This infamous earthquake led to the deaths of 40 Native Americans, who happened to be worshipping at the San Juan Capistrano mission at the time. The quake caused the church to collapse, even though the epicenter was far from the mission. This event would trigger another massive earthquake in the coming weeks.
