Don't forget the giant earthquake near Memphis in 1865 that caused the Mississippi river to have waves (some thought it made the river reverse course) and rang church bells in Boston.

As a kid growing up in Coronado, we had a room called the library which was a two story open room with an iron chandelier with chain suspended in middle. After an earthquake we would run in the room to see how much it was swinging and then all guess at the scale of the quake. We would find out the "winner" when the news came up that evening on TV. (NBC, ABC, CBS)

Some squadron mates of mine were flying over Lemoor CA (south of Fresno) during an earthquake that hit Coalinga. They described seeing waves in the earth that looked like ripples on a pond. They could see them "hit" palms and trees to see them shake.

List of California earthquakes:


DateNameAreaMag.
MMIDeathsInjuriesTotal damage / notes

2019-07-05RidgecrestEastern7.1 MwIX[1]

2019-07-04RidgecrestEastern6.4 MwVII [2]20[3]

2014-08-24South NapaNorth Bay6.0 MwVIII1~200$362 m–$1 b

2014-03-28La HabraLA Area5.1 MwVIFew$10.8 m[7]

2010-04-04Baja CaliforniaBaja California7.2 MwVII2–4100–233$1.15 b

2010-01-09EurekaNorth Coast6.5 MwVI35$21.8–43 m

2008-07-29Chino HillsLA Area5.5 MwVI8Limited

2003-12-22San SimeonCentral Coast6.6 MwVIII240$250–300 m

2000-09-03YountvilleNorth Bay5.0 MwVII41$10–50 m

1999-10-16Hector MineEastern7.1 MwVII4–5Limited

1994-01-17NorthridgeLA Area6.7 MwIX578,700+$13–$40 b

1992-06-28Big BearInland Empire6.5 MwVIIISomeModerate / triggered

1992-06-28LandersInland Empire7.3 MwIX3400+$92 m

1992-04-26Cape MendocinoNorth Coast6.6 MwVIIIdmge / triggered

1992-04-26Cape MendocinoNorth Coast6.5 MwVIIIdmge / triggered

1992-04-25Cape MendocinoNorth Coast7.2 MwIX98–356$48.3–75 m / tsunami

1992-04-22Joshua TreeInland Empire6.3 MsVII32Light–moderate[7]

1991-06-28Sierra MadreLA Area5.6 MwVII1100–107$33.5–40 m

1990-02-28UplandLA Area5.7 MwVII30$12.7 m

1989-10-17Loma PrietaSanta Cruz Mts6.9 MwIX633,757$5.6–6 b / tsunami

1989-08-08Loma PrietaSanta Cruz Mts5.4 MLVII1Minor

1987-11-24Elmore RanchImperial Valley6.5 MwVIITriggered
[8]

1987-11-23Superstition HillsImperial Valley6.1 MwVI$3 m[8]

1987-10-01WhittierLA Area5.9 MwVIII8200$213–358 m

1986-07-21Chalfant ValleyEastern6.2 MwVI2$2.7 m / sequence

1986-07-13OceansideSouth Coast5.8 MwVI1$700 k[9]

1986-07-08N. Palm SpringsInland Empire6.0 MwVII29–40$4.5–6 m

1984-04-24Morgan HillSouth Bay6.2 MwVIII21–27$7.5–8 m

1983-05-02CoalingaCentral Valley6.2 MwVIII94$10 m

1981-04-26WestmorlandImperial Valley5.9 MwVII$1–3 m[10]

1980-11-08EurekaNorth Coast7.3 MwVII6$2–2.75 m

1980-05-25Mammoth LakesEastern6.2 MwVII9$1.5 m / swarm
[11]

1980-01-26LivermoreEast Bay5.4 MwVIIDoublet
[12]

1980-01-24LivermoreEast Bay5.8 MwVII$11.5 m / doublet
[13]

1979-10-15Imperial ValleyImperial Valley6.4 MwIX91$30 m

1979-08-06Coyote LakeSouth Bay5.7 MwVII16$500 k

1978-08-13Santa BarbaraCentral Coast5.8 MwVII65$12 m[14]

1975-08-01Butte CountyButte County5.7 MLVIII10$3 m[7]

1973-02-21Point MuguSouth Coast5.8 MwVIISeveral$1 m

1971-02-09San FernandoLA Area6.6 MwXI58–65200–2,000$505–553 m

1969-10-01Santa RosaNorth Bay5.7 MwVIIIDoublet

1969-10-01Santa RosaNorth Bay5.6 MwVII1$8.35 m / doublet

1968-04-08Borrego MtnImperial Valley6.5 MwVIIdmge / rockslides[15]

1957-03-22San FranciscoBay Area5.7 MwVII140$1 m

1954-12-21EurekaNorth Coast6.5 MLVII1Several$2.1 m[16]

1952-08-22Kern CountyCentral Valley5.8 MwVIII2Several$10 m

1952-07-21Kern CountyCentral Valley7.3 MwXI12Hundreds$60 m

1948-12-04Desert Hot SpringsInland Empire6.4 MwVIISeveralMinor

1941-11-14Torrance–GardenaLA Area5.4 MsVIII$1.1 m[17]

1941-06-30Santa BarbaraCentral Coast5.9 MwVIII$100 k[18]

1940-05-18El CentroImperial Valley6.9 MwX920$6 m

1933-03-10Long BeachSouth Coast6.4 MwVIII115–120$40 m

1932-06-06EurekaNorth Coast6.4 MwVIII13Severe

1927-11-04LompocCentral Coast7.3 MwVIIIModerate / tsunami[19]

1925-06-29Santa BarbaraCentral Coast6.8 MwIX13$8 m

1923-01-22Humboldt CountyNorth Coast7.2 MsVIIISevere / tsunami[20]

1920-06-21InglewoodLA Area4.9 MLVIIIMore than $100 k[21]

1918-04-21San JacintoInland Empire6.7 MwIX1Several$200 k

1915-06-22Imperial ValleyImperial Valley5.5 MwVIII6$900 k / doublet
[22]

1906-04-18San FranciscoNorthern–Central7.9 MwXI700–3,000+Conflagration / tsunami

1899-12-25San JacintoInland Empire6.7 MwIX6$50 k or more[23]

1898-03-30Mare IslandNorth Bay5.8–6.4 MwVIII–IX$350 k / moderate

1892-04-21Vacaville–WintersCentral Valley6.2 MLaIXDoublet

1892-04-19Vacaville–WintersNorth Bay6.4 MLaIX1$225–250 k / doublet

1892-02-23Laguna SaladaBaja California7.1–7.2 MwVIIIModerate

1873-11-23Crescent CityNorth Coast6.7 MLaVIIIdmge / ground cracks[24]

1872-03-26Lone PineEastern7.4–7.9 MwX2756$250 k / limited

1868-10-21HaywardBay Area6.3–6.7 MwIX30$350 k / moderate

1865-10-08Santa Cruz MtsSanta Cruz Mts6.3 MLaVIII$500 k[25]

1857-01-09Fort TejonCentral–Southern7.9 MwIX2Severe

1838-06-??San AndreasBay Area6.8–7.2 MwVIIIMinor

1812-12-21VenturaCentral Coast7.1 MLaVIII1Tsunami
[26]

1812-12-08San Juan CapistranoSouth Coast6.9–7.5VII–IX40Moderate

 

Earthquakes are an unsettling experience. I've experienced many... one that was a magnitude of 4.9-5.0 in the early sixties when working near the epicenter at Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) located east of Denver. RMA was disposing their waste materials (Agent Orange) into pressurized deep wells. They stopped the procedure after local complaints. Today, the area has become a national park. I can’t imagine the anxiety & panic during a 7.1 magnitude.

 

As a kid I was shaken and thought, if you can't trust the earth you stand on what can you trust? My parents were going to a sort of group counseling class at the time and I was none to pleased to be home without them during aftershocks, in 1971. After the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 , my husband, Andy, an electrical contractor, decided to stay in the San Fernando Valley for a week or two, camping on a friend's front lawn, instead of trying to drive home to Acton. It was normally a 30 minute drive that became 3 hours due to ruined freeway bridges. He was very busy helping people get back up and running. This time I had two kids, ages 5 and 6, while we road out the aftershocks. My brother lived right next to the 5 Freeway in a trailer, where one of the bridges fell. I'd talk to him on the phone and he'd feel the aftershocks about 15 seconds before they got to me. His trailer was knocked off the foundation. He got money from FEMA and then ditched his trailer and moved to Austin, Texas.


^This was on the 5 freeway very close to my brother's trailer. It wasn't but a mile or two from the intersection below.




This was the intersection of the 14 and 5 freeways. The collapsed overpass was southbound 14 which is the one Andy took to work from Acton. His shop was in San Fernando.

 

Keck-USC.

 

Looks like there are many that fit the bill. Where is the one you were at?

 

The old University hospital, on Med School campus.

 

I've been through several quakes in LA, then the LomaPrieta quake (LP was about 20 miles from my house) that was the biggest. Then two in Napa. I'm in Ohio right now when I heard about these two, thought they were in LA until my sister emailed me. They bought a second home last year in Ridge Crest, the epicenter. They aren't there but caretaker said the inside is trashed. Don't know if there is structural damage or not.

 

Well, damn. It's gotta be fully trashed!

 

sorry to hear that Dean.

still waiting for the next "big one."

 

Hope everyone in the area of these quakes is doing ok. New Zealand is literally built by earthquakes as the country sits on the boundary between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates.

I haven't felt a decent one since the M7.8 Kaikoura quake in 2016 - I was on the 10th floor of a hotel in Wellington at the time and it fairly rocked. My workmate 4 floors up said all the bottles fell out of the minibar in his room and smashed on the floor...sure dude...

Last decently fatal (?!) ones were the 2010-2012 Canterbury quakes, the worst being the M6.3 on 02/22/2011 that killed 185 people, injured thousands and caused about $40B of damage. Over 10,000 quakes recorded up to M7.4. As you can imagine, earthquake insurance isn't cheap here. We have a government-backed scheme that covers a certain amount of damage but the Canterbury quakes ate all that up and more.