The Northridge Earthquake of 1994
By: Carolyn Lira
My Dads Northridge earthquake story
“It sounded like a giant train going past my building,” Said my Dad. I interviewed my Dad about the Northridge which happend on January 17, 1994 at 4:30 am. The epicenter was in Northridge but at the time my Dad was in Los Angeles. My Dad was living in a duplex when the earthquake happend. It was at 4:30 in the morning so my Dad was asleep but he woke up to a loud rumbling sound. His first instink was to get out of the building so he got up put on his shoes and got out as fast as he could. When he was running out he saw pictures and glass items shaking violently and falling on the ground and that was when he figured out it was an earthquake. When he got out of the building he noticed that his next door neighbor was stuck in her house because her door was jammed. My Dad helped her get out. My Dad said it felt like everything was shaking but the thing that frightend him the most was the noice. Then, my Dad herd that the Santa Monica Freeway had collapsed so he went to see it. When he got there he saw many news reporters. He was shocked at what he saw. The earthquake magnitude was 6.7.
Some tips my Dad shared with me were to bolt big pieces furniture to walls so they don’t fall when an earthquake is happening. Also make sure that picture frames are on the wall securely so they don’t fall on the floor. My Dad got many cuts from broken glass when he was getting out of the building. Always have gallons of water in a good place just in case if you can’t access to water if you can’t enter your house to get water. also always keep radio ready because if the earthquakes make power lines fall your phones won’t work so you can’t get infamation. The last tips is to always have a safety kit and flashlight ready.