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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Sylmar Quake — also called the San Fernando Quake — which damaged the Van Norman Dam and led to the evacuation of 70,000 people.
The magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck at 6 a.m. and ultimately killed 64 people and caused $500 million in damage. That damage included the startling collapse of the newly-built Olive View Hospital in San Fernando (pictured below).
Seismologist Lucy Jones says that collapse — and other significant damage throughout the region — led to many new safety regulations and substantial changes in building codes. And in 1981, a decade after the quake, the city of Los Angeles passed the very first retrofitting ordinance.
"And that was revolutionary when it happened. It was a big fight to get it through. But the ability to go back and say, 'you've got to fix that old building' has been critical to improving our safety in California."
Listen to our full interview with Lucy Jones, who spoke to our newsroom's local news and culture show, Take Two, which airs on 89.3 KPCC:
MORE ON THE SYLMAR QUAKE
THE BIG ONE IS COMING. GET PREPARED
We don't want to scare you, but the Big One is coming. We don't know when, but we know it'll be at least 44 times stronger than Northridge and 11 times stronger than the Ridgecrest quakes in 2019. To help you get prepared, we've compiled a handy reading list:
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