1933 — March 10, Earthquake, Long Beach, CA — 120

— 151 Oakland Tribune, CA. “New Shocks…Quake Area; Death Toll Now 151.” 3-12-1933, 1
— 132 San Mateo Times, CA. “132 L.A. Quake Dead; 4,000 Hurt.” 3-11-1938, p. 1.
— 120 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 150.
— 120 Fatemi and James. The Long Beach Earthquake of 1933. UC, Berkeley: NISEE, 1997.
— 120 National Fire Protect. Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).
— 120 National Geophysical Data Center. The Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA.
— 120 Southern California Earthquake Center. Long Beach Earthquake (1933).
–>120 Southern California Earthquake Center. Long Beach Earthquake: 70th Anniversary.
— 119 Oakland Tribune, CA. “New Shocks Rock Quake Area Today.” 3-13-1933, p. 1.
— 116 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database.
— 115 United States Geological Survey. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes. 2008.

Narrative Information

SCEC: “…at 5:54 p.m. on March 10, 1933, southern California experienced its deadliest seismic disaster in recorded history when a magnitude (MW) 6.4 earthquake struck the Long Beach area. The Long Beach earthquake occurred along the Newport-Inglewood fault zone centered just off the coast of Newport Beach, with a hypocentral depth of 10 kilometers. Seismic records suggest a maximum slip along the fault of about 1 meter, with a total rupture length of roughly 15 kilometers. The actual earthquake rupture lasted only 5 seconds, though ground shaking (as is typical) lasted at least twice as long. The maximum recorded ground acceleration was 0.22g, or 22% the force of gravity (though the nearest recording site for this data was 27 kilometers from the epicenter). Despite these rather modest seismological numbers, the earthquake killed over 120 people and caused property losses estimated at $50 million (1933) dollars.” (SCEC. 70th Anniversary.)

SCEC: “This earthquake occurred on the Newport-Inglewood fault zone, a system of right-lateral strike-slip faulting. There was no surface rupture associated with this earthquake. It resulted in 120 deaths and over $50 million in property damage. Most of the damaged buildings were of unreinforced masonry. Many school buildings were destroyed. Fortunately, however, the children were not present in the classrooms.” (Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Long Beach Earthquake, 1933.)

USGS: “Severe property damage occurred at Compton, Long Beach, and other towns in the area…. At Compton, almost every building in a three-block radius on unconsolidated material and land fill was destroyed. At Long Beach, buildings collapsed, houses were pushed from foundations, walls were knocked down, and tanks and chimneys fell through roofs….” (USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Long Beach, California 1933)

SCEC: “Long Beach experienced 127 breaks in water distribution mains. Seal Beach was without water for several days. Six million gallons of water poured out of the Los Angeles Water Department’s Western Avenue tank. Nineteen fires were reported in Long Beach during the night of the earthquake, seven due to broken gas lines. Liquefaction occurred along much of the sparsely-populated coast between Newport Beach and Long Beach.” (SCEC. 70th Anniversary.)

SCEC: “Fortunately, part of the Pacific Fleet had just returned to their home base in Long Beach Harbor after a six-month cruise, and the U.S. Navy sent ashore emergency supplies and about 2,000 sailors and Marines. The Army also sent men and supplies from Fort McArthur in San Pedro. The presence of soldiers on their streets led many Long Beach residents to think the city was under martial law (it wasn’t; the troops took orders from the City Manager’s Office). The National Guard set up food kitchens, and by 6:00 a.m. the next morning, people were served breakfast in every park in the city. Water was also trucked in for those in areas where water mains had broken.” (SCEC. 70th Anniversary.)

USGS: “Shocks similar in magnitude and intensity to this event have occurred in this area in the past – notably July 28, 1769; December 8, 1812; and July 11, 1855…. The earthquake was felt almost everywhere in the 10 southern counties of California and at some points farther to the northwest and north in the Coast Range, the San Joaquin Valley, the Sierra Nevada, and the Owens Valley. It also was reported in northern Baja California. A sharp foreshock occurred near Huntington Beach on March 9, and many aftershocks occurred through March 16. For several years, minor aftershocks continued to occur, most often centering near the two ends of the disturbed segment of the Newport-Inglewood fault.” (USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Long Beach, California 1933)

SCEC: “More than two-thirds of the 120 deaths occurred when people ran outside and were struck by falling bricks, cornices, parapets, and building ornaments.” (SCEC. 70th Anniversary.)

SCEC: “This earthquake led to the passage of the Field Act, which gave the State Division of Architecture authority and responsibility for approving design and supervising construction of public schools. Building codes were also improved.” (Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Long Beach Earthquake. 1933.)

Contemporary Newspapers:

March 11: “Los Angeles, March 11. – (UP) – The known death toll from Southern California’s disastrous earthquake stood at 132 at noon today as a dozen towns and cities joined in a search for more bodies, caring for hundreds of injured and gauging property damage running into millions.

Dead Listed.

“Although convinced that fatalities from last night’s terrific series of earth shocks will increase, authorities believed there may be some duplications in the identification of known dead.

“Long Beach, chief center of death and damage, counted 65 dead, 50 identified. In nearby Compton, where the business district was virtually demolished, 16 were dead. Los Angeles had 9 dead, and like all other communities, scores of injured. The exact list by cities as compiled at 1 o’clock this afternoon read as follows:

Long Beach, 65;
Compton, 16;
Huntington Park, 12;
San Pedro, 6;
Los Angeles, 10;
Dominguez, 1;
Artesia, 3;
Santa Ana, 3;
Garden Grove, 1;
Watts, 4;
Sawtelle, 1;
Hermosa, 1;
Norwalk, 2;
County at large, 4.

“….Virtual martial law prevailed in Long Beach, where sailors and marines from the United States fleet – anchored offshore — were impressed for patrol service. With fixed bayonets the guards kept streets clear for rescue and repair crews, meanwhile acting to prevent looting attempts….Five thousand sailors and marines from the United States battlefleet moved into Long Beach last night to help peace officers maintain order. They were fully armed and had orders to shoot to kill if any looting was discovered….” (San Mateo Times, CA. “132 L.A. Quake Dead; 4,000 Hurt. Continued Shocks Rock Stricken Cities; Navy Men Police Long Beach.” 3-11-1938, p. 1.)

March 12: “Cascade of Death. This [reference to AP photo] was the main street of Compton. It is shown after the havoc wrought by the earthquake. Thirteen lives were lost as the street was turned from a modern thoroughfare into a rubbish pile. The cascade of rock and brick buried its victims beneath tons of debris.”

“Here’s List of Dead in Quake Area [we list the towns and cities, and not the individual names].

Artesia 4
Bellflower 3
Compton 18
Dominguez Junction 1
Downey 1
Garden Grove 3
Hermosa Beach 1
Huntington Park 13
Long Beach 98
Los Angeles 17
Lynwood 2
Montebello 1
Norwalk 2
Pacoima 1
Santa Ana 3
Santa Monica 3 (air crash en route to Long Beach)
San Pedro 2
Sawtelle 3
South Gate 1
Walnut Park 1
Watts 4
Wilmington 2 (totals 185)

(Oakland Tribune, CA. “New Shocks Rock Quake Area; Death Toll Now 151.” 3-12-1933, p. 1.)

Sources

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database. Louvain, Belgium: Universite Catholique do Louvain. Accessed at: http://www.emdat.be/

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

Fatemi, Susan and Charles James. The Long Beach Earthquake of 1933. University of California, Berkeley: National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering. December 8, 1997 update. Accessed at: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/long_beach/long_beach.html

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet of 10+ Fatality Fires, as of 3-15-2013. Email attachment to Wayne Blanchard.

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

Oakland Tribune, CA. “New Shocks Rock Quake Area; Death Toll Now 151.” 3-12-1933, p. 1 At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=31407007&sterm=earthquake+long

San Mateo Times, CA. “132 L.A. Quake Dead; 4,000 Hurt.” 3-11-1938, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=37301576&sterm=earthquake+long+beach

Southern California Earthquake Center. Long Beach Earthquake (1933). Accessed at: http://www.data.scec.org/chrono_index/longbeac.html

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