Posted on 02/08/2005 8:21:37 PM PST by al baby
TIME February 9, 1971 / 6:01 am PST LOCATION 34° 24.67' N, 118° 24.04' W MAGNITUDE MW6.6 DEPTH: 8.4 km TYPE OF FAULTING thrust - ANIMATION FAULT INVOLVED San Fernando fault zone; minor offset reported on the eastern Santa Susana fault zone
Also known as the Sylmar Earthquake, this earthquake occurred on the San Fernando fault zone, a zone of thrust faulting which broke the surface in the Sylmar-San Fernando Area. The total surface rupture was roughly 19 km (12 miles) long. The maximum slip was up to 2 meters (6 feet).
The earthquake caused over $500 million in property damage and 65 deaths. Most of the deaths occurred when the Veteran's Administration Hospital collapsed. Several other hospitals, including the Olive View Community Hospital in Sylmar (pictured below) suffered severe damage. Newly constructured freeway overpasses also collapsed, in damage scenes similar to those which occurred 23 years later in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Loss of life could have been much greater had the earthquake struck at a busier time of day.
This was my first earthquake. I was 9 at the time and no one bothered to tell me that sometimes the earth shakes. So, I woke up and screamed like a little girl all the way downstairs. I remember bringing my rosary to school that day.
Now, if it's less than a 5 I sleep through them.
I went to some truly terrible "jammies" at the FUB (Hastings resident). All the walls were lined by layers of guys who didn't think they had a chance due to the "ratio."
The rumor was that East Halls were originally supposed to be built where PL 80 was, but the ground underneath was riddled with caves and wouldn't support the foundations. They must've either found a way around that problem, or perhaps it wasn't true. Anyway, that's what I remember. Yes, it was a very, very nasty walk when the wind was blowing from across the corn fields and the flower gardens. Nasty cold. Just downright nasty.
I was in Viet Nam, but I was short.
I didn't even bother to go to the jammies because the ratio was so horrible. My friends and I used to go to schools like Lock Haven and Juniata where the odds worked to our advantage. (Not enough to help me much, though!!) Ironically, I wound up marrying a Penn State girl eight years after graduation. While she never had any problem getting dates, she said the quality wasn't always what she would have hoped. I guess all women have to say that!! I just remember a lot of pinochle, a lot of snow, and a lot of Moody Blues/Crosby Stills Nash/Creedence cassettes. And two bucks for student tickets to football. The only time it was an advantage to live in East Halls.
Willie -- what was the name of that building that connected the towers in East Halls? Was it the Fisher Building? Played a lot of ping pong down there, and many a late night visit to the vending machines for a two-week old egg salad sandwich.
I'll never forget it.
I was in the San Gabriel Valley and (I don't remember why) I was sleeping in the living room in a sleeping bag.
My mom said I vaulted into her room with never touching the ground.
That was nothing compaed to the Northridge quake of '94. I was 3 miles from the epicenter and I can best describe it as being on the inside of a jackhammr.
Yep, past East Halls is Ag Central. The flower gardens are still across from Hastings. There's a neat building called the Ag Arena. They have a pretty neat show once every fall, coinciding with a home football game. This year it was the Purdue game. They eliminated the stinky barn between Parking Lot 80 and the Creamery when I was still there. Yuck, walking a mile and a half back from class, then wending my way past the cattle really drove home my station in life at that point in time.
Some advantages of Hastings: We considered it the closest dorm to Beaver Stadium. The baseball field, when flooded, made a terrific canoeing site. Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat landed there to attend the funeral of his uncle. He waved at me and I kind of got his picture. You could see that ski-nose through the black window.
Downtown, College Avenue was packed with people to greet the First Couple on their way back from the funeral. No protests that I remember. Those were the days, when a big college town could line up to welcome Richard Nixon.
My birthday today. I would have been in Australia in 1970. Lived there from 1967-1980.
I was 10 and living in the San Fernando Valley. So I felt it!
I was asleep on a sofa bed and woke up to my first earthquake (that I felt) by hearing my 16 year old sister scream, and scream and scream. The big sliding glass window was shaking and rattling and I thought it was going to break. At the same time, I was marveling at the earth shaking as I never felt it before!
oops! make that 1971! It is 2005 -- (time flies) Chinese New Year tomorrow, too!
I was in Hayward, CA.
When my radio alarm clock turned on at 6:30, they were talking about it on the news.
I figured it was Charlie Manson's doing.
"Downright nasty."
For sure, but not as nasty as sitting in Beaver Stadium in the south bleachers with a north wind coming at you. I remember a Pitt game I watched through a crack in my gloves, held tightly over my face for most of the game. My hair was frozen with ice, which later melted down my neck. I swear the climate has changed since then. Not to mention Beaver Stadium!
I went to a "jammie" once. Gave up on it after about 45 minutes. It was bad.
Actually, I spent 1 term in Snyder (summer '70) before moving to Pennypacker for 2 years. Then an apartment on S.Allen for my junior year before moving back on campus (Nittany dorms -- the old "army barracks") my senrior year. Then it was Atherton Hall for grad school.
Upstairs in Camarillo CA with a newborn daughter trying to decide to stay where I was or to go down the stairs. I stayed put. So did the house.
Penn State used to be a fairly conservative campus, although we had the usual stupid shutdown to "protest" the invasion of Cambodia. Most students could not have cared less -- I remember the Daily Collegian criticizing all the young scholars who used the day to throw frisbees or head off to Whipples Dam instead of attending seminars at the HUB to reflect on the immorality of war. Today I'm afraid we're just like the others for being politically correct. Thanks for the update on the barn. Yes, at Penn State we were always being humbled, either by weather or by fragrance. Nittany Halls was another one -- that place was like a minimum security prison. I always thought they sent you there if you did something wrong, like get on disciplinary probation.
Oops Willie -- I slammed Nittany Halls before I saw your post. Nothing personal!! And at least you had easy access to the Natatorium!!
I was in GITMO. USN USS Massey (DD-778) 1969-1973.
We took the captain out in the whale boat for a fishing trip and was almost attacked by the Cubans for drifting over the line.
Wasn't the first feel, and the baldwin hills dam did break. Got in a world of trouble from the mama-san when she found out I'd taken HER car to the area and carried my sister's tbe brother in law out (he was in her apt. with a broken leg, and there were cadillacs floating down the street, out on my back piggy back style. Left the honey in the car and told her to drive it home if the water got that high.
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