LA TIMES
BREAKING NEWS EARTHQUAKE HITS LA
Ray Sosa Survived The Northridge Earthquake
Have you ever felt the Earth shake beneath your feet? I interviewed my dad Ray Sosa. He has experienced three earthquakes in his life. Two were big and one was small. The earthquake that I will be talking about today is the one called Nothridge. Northridge was a 6.7 earthquake, it took place on 1994 January 17. It happened at 4:30 am. This was the biggest earthquake Ray Sosa has ever felt.
My dad, was a sleep on the pull out sofa in the living room. His mom, and his little foster brother were asleep as well. He started to hear a rumbling noise. He started waking up when he heard this. when he was fully awake he heard a big BAM! The bed shook so hard, and the trophies next to him were shaking as well. The house was shaking so hard he grabbed his blankets and put them over him, and curled up like a little ball. The house was shaking so hard that he thought he was going to die.
When he finally realized that the earthquake was not going to stop he got up and ran to his brother’s room to wake him up and also his mom’s room. Once they were awake they went to the archway near the front door. When the rumbling stopped his mom wanted to go into the kitchen to turn of the stove gas. My dad wouldn’t let her go because she wasn’t wearing any shoes so he didn’t want her getting hurt. Finally his mother agreed to let him go.
When he got his shoes on he ran to the kitchen. There all the glass cups,plates, and bowls were on the ground shattered. He was relieved that his mother did not go into the kitchen or else she would have gotten cut very badly. Finally he went to the oven to turn off the gas. The chimney had fallen as well as the glass.
In Los Angeles there was much damage. Two freeways collapsed on each other. There was so much dust and smoke that a police officer drove off the freeway. My dad also said that there was a four story apartment building that partially collapsed. It lasted 10 to 20 seconds, 57 people died that day.
My dad recommends that you always have shoes near you. Keep calm and do not run no matter what. Take shelter under a big table or near a doorway. Always remember to keep calm.