1971 — Feb 9, mag. 6.6 San Fernando (Sylmar) Earthquake, San Fernando area, CA –64-65

–64-65 Blanchard note:

We utilize the range of 64-65 in that generally reliable sources note both 64 and 65 fatalities. We speculate the death-toll could actually be higher, if it was accurately reported that nine or at least ten people died of “earthquake-related heart attacks.” We have not been able, however to identify these reported victims by name.

–65 CA Dept. of Conservation. The 1971 San Fernando Earthquake (webpage). Accessed 3-3-2022.
–65 National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. The Significant Earthquake Database.
–65 Southern California Earthquake Data Center. “San Fernando Earthquake.”
–65 USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes, 2008 update.
–65 USGS. Earthquake Hazards Program. Historic Earthquakes. San Fernando, CA 1971.
–65 USGS. San Fernando Earthquake.
–64 Modesto Bee, CA. “Shock Damage Forces Closing 11 LA Schools.” 2-17-1971, C4.
–64 USGS. “50 Years Later, an Earthquake’s Legacy Continues.” 2-4-2021.
–64 USGS / NOAA. The San Fernando, California, Earthquake of February 9, 1971. 1971, 1.
–64 Viscusi, W. Kip. “Insurance and Catastrophes: The Changing Role of the Liability System.” 178.
–62 Ferrara, Grace M. The Disaster File: The 1970’s. New York: Facts on File, 1979, p. 57.
–61 Daily Democrat, Woodland, CA. “L.A. quake refugees return.” 2-13-1971, p. 1.
–60 Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Quake Loss $1 Billion; Toll at 60.” 2-12-1971, p. 1.
–56 Walker, John. Disasters. Chicago: Follett Publishing Co., 1973, p. 16.
–55 Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Quake Toll Now 55; Dm Still in Danger.” 2-11-1971, p. 1.
–50 OJP DOJ. Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual: 2nd Ed. (Appendix D).

–58 Direct. Coffman and von Hake. United States Earthquakes, 1971. USGS, 1984, p. 23.
— 3 Olive View Hospital
–1 Roy N. Johnson, 62, patient.
–1 Harry Rankin, 34, county ambulance driver, building collapse.
–1 Leo Thomas, 46, patient.
–49 Veterans Administration Hospital
— 2 collapse of freeway overpass
–1 freeway overpass collapse in Sylmar; Arthur Mikkleson of San Fernando.
— 1 collapse of an old building in downtown Los Angeles
— 3 other locations
–1 Grenada Hills area; man killed by falling bricks running from a mission.
? Nicolo Difilipantonio? Killed in Midnight Mission roof collapse.
–1 Sylmar. Linda Daniheux, 25, killed in bed; wall collapse.
–1 Sylmar. Die-casting plant workman; hit by metal block. Jaime Gonzalez, 55.
–58 Geschwind. California Earthquakes: Science, Risk…Politics of Hazard Mitigation. 2001, p. 165.

Indirect:
–~10 “At least 10…victims died of quake-related heart attacks.”
— 9 “…heart attack victims.” Progress-Bulletin, Pomona, CA. “Earthquake Toll…” 2-10-1971, 1.

Not sure if sources reporting “direct” deaths included these individuals:

–1 Angelo Ferrer, 5; 1113 San Fernando Road, San Fernando; wall collapse at home.
–1 Milton Gonne, Van Nuys, “killed in pickup truck incident.”
–1 Mabel Meyers, 87, Feb 16, complications of broken leg when she fell; Long Beach home.

Narrative Information

California Department of Conservation: “On February 9, 1971 at 6:01 am PST, a devastating M6.6 earthquake struck the densely populated metropolitan area of Los Angeles, leaving death and destruction in its wake. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the vicinity of Magic Mountain, about six miles northeast of Sylmar, at a depth of about seven miles. The shock was felt for 300 miles along the southern California coastal region and as far inland as Las Vegas, Nevada. The greatest damage was in the San Fernando area northwest of Los Angeles. The earthquake resulted in 65 deaths and more than 2,000 people injured. Property damage losses totaled more than half a billion dollars.

“Hospitals were severely damaged; freeway interchanges collapsed; and a reservoir was in imminent danger of failure, forcing nearly 80,000 residents who lived downstream to evacuate. Movement along the fault reached the surface during the earthquake and extended 12.5 miles from the San Fernando-Sylmar area in the northern San Fernando Valley to Big Tujunga Wash in the Sunland area. Along this zone, many additional structures sitting on top of the fault zone were severely damaged directly by fault movement at the surface….” (California Department of Conservation. The 1971 San Fernando Earthquake (webpage). Accessed 3-3-2022.)

Southern California Earthquake Center: “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…suffered severe damage . Newly constructed 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.

“In response to this earthquake, building codes were strengthened and the Alquist Priolo Special Studies Zone Act was passed in 1972. The purpose of this act is to prohibit the location of most structures for human occupancy across the traces of active faults and to mitigate thereby the hazard of fault rupture.” (Southern California Earthquake Center, San Fernando Earthquake)

USGS, Historic Earthquakes: “It lasted about 60 seconds, and, in that brief span of time, took 65 lives, injured more than 2,000…” (USGS, Historic Earthquakes: San Fernando, California 1971.)

USGS/NOAA: “The violent tremors that shook the San Fernando area…at about 6 o’clock on the morning of February 9, 1971, are a painful reminder that earthquakes and the violent distortions and displacements of the earth’s surface which commonly accompany them are a natural and permanent part of the environment in sizeable areas of the United States. The tremors also warn us that we must improve our ability to recognize those places where such potentially destructive distortions and displacements are likely to occur before we plan new cities or design buildings and structures in these areas. They also warn us that we must reexamine the criteria by which we judge the safety of older buildings and structures and the design of some types of new buildings and structures in the earthquake-prone regions. The reminder, however, cost 64 people their lives and created physical losses estimated at more than one-half billion dollars. The total loss may approach $1 billion when all the direct and indirect costs are tallied. If the earthquake had struck during the working day, when public buildings, businesses, and highways are crowded, the loss of life and the incidence of major injuries would have been greater. Had the Lower Van Norman Lake Dam, which was close to collapse when the earthquake ended, actually failed, the San Fernando earthquake might have become infamous as the deadliest in United States history.” (USGS and NOAA. The San Fernando, California, Earthquake of February 9, 1971. 1971, p. 1.

Newspapers

Feb 9: “A powerful earthquake jolted Southern California at dawn today….The shock was centered in the rugged San Gabriel Mountains 26 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The San Fernando Valley is the closest major population center. Hard hit, too, were the towns of Newhall and Saugus, just 10 miles from the center….The shock was felt from Fresno to the north to the Mexican border to the south, a distance of 350 miles, and as far inland as Las Vegas, Nev. ….” (Star-News Pasadena, CA. “Southland Rocked by Killer Quake.” 2-9-1971, p. 1.)

Sources

Bakersfield Californian. “Cracked Dam Threat Hangs Over Homes.” 2-10-1971, p. 8. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-feb-10-1971-p-8/

California Department of Conservation. The 1971 San Fernando Earthquake (webpage). Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/earthquakes/san-fernando

Coffman, Jerry L. and Carl A. von Hake. United States Earthquakes, 1971 (Open-File report 84-971). U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, 1984. Accessed 3-2-2022 at: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1984/0971/report.pdf

Daily Democrat, Woodland, CA. “L.A. quake refugees return.” 2-13-1971, p. 1. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/woodland-daily-democrat-feb-13-1971-p-1/

Ferrara, Grace M. The Disaster File: The 1970’s. New York: Facts on File, 1979.

Geschwind, Carl-Henry. California Earthquakes: Science, Risk & The Politics of Hazard Mitigation. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

National Geophysical Data Center. The Significant Earthquake Database. NGDC, NOAA. Accessed 12-23-2008 at: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1

Modesto Bee, CA. “Shock Damage Forces Closing 11 LA Schools.” 2-17-1971, C4. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/modesto-bee-and-news-herald-feb-17-1971-p-26/

Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice. Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual: Second Edition (Appendix D: Catastrophes Used as Reference Points in Training Curricula). Washington, DC: OJP, U.S. Department of Justice. Accessed at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/crt/pdftxt/appendd.txt

Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Quake Loss $1 Billion; Toll at 60.” 2-12-1971, p. 1. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-feb-12-1971-p-1/

Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Quake Toll Now 55; Dam Still in Danger.” 2-11-1971, p. 1. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-feb-11-1971-p-2/

Progress-Bulletin, Pomona, CA. “Earthquake Toll 44; 15 Missing in Vet Hospital.” 2-10-1971, p. 1. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pomona-progress-bulletin-feb-10-1971-p-1/

Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Earthquake Information. Chronological Earthquake Index. “San Fernando Earthquake.” Accessed 3-2-2022 at: https://scedc.caltech.edu/earthquake/sanfernando1971.html

Star-News Pasadena, CA. “Southland Rocked by Killer Quake.” 2-9-1971, p. 1. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/star-news-feb-09-1971-p-1/

United States Geological Survey. “50 Years Later, an Earthquake’s Legacy Continues.” 2-4-2021. Accessed 3-2-2022 at: https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/disaster-helped-nation-prepare-future-earthquakes-remembering-san-fernando

United States Geological Survey. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes (website). July 16, 2008 update. Accessed at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/us_deaths.php

United States Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The San Fernando, California, Earthquake of February 9, 1971 (Geological Survey Professional Paper 733). Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1971. Accessed 3-2-2022 at: https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0733/report.pdf

Valley News, Van Nuys, CA. “Issue Partial List of Dead in Big Quake.” 2-12-1971, pp. 1 & 12. Accessed 3-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-valley-news-and-valley-green-sheet-feb-12-1971-p-1/

Viscusi, W. Kip. “Insurance and Catastrophes: The Changing Role of the Liability System.” The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Vol. 20, No. 2, 1995, pp. 177-184.

Walker, John. Disasters. Chicago: Follett Publishing Co., 1973.