The 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake killed 60 people and caused up to $50 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 6.7 Mw (blind thrust)
- Date & Time
- January 17, 1994, 04:30:55 PST
- Duration
- Approximately 8 seconds
- Peak Ground Acceleration
- Over 1.7 g g
- Deaths
- 60 people
- Property Damage
- $13–50 billion USD
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake originated from a blind thrust fault beneath the San Fernando Valley — a type of fault with no surface expression, making it difficult to detect in advance. The region's location within the tectonically active Pacific-North American plate boundary zone made it susceptible to such seismic events, as had been demonstrated by the 1971 San Fernando earthquake on a nearby fault.
On January 17, 1994, at 4:30 a.m. local time, a moment magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck beneath the San Fernando Valley near Northridge in Greater Los Angeles. Lasting roughly 8 seconds, it produced peak ground accelerations exceeding 1.7 g and was felt across a wide region extending to San Diego, Las Vegas, Nevada, Phoenix, Arizona, and Ensenada, Mexico. It became the largest recorded earthquake in the area's history.
The earthquake killed 60 people and injured more than 9,000. Estimated property damage ranged from $13 billion to $50 billion, placing Northridge among the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history. The disaster prompted major reviews of building codes and engineering standards in earthquake-prone regions, and accelerated research into blind-thrust fault systems in the Los Angeles basin.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 60 (earthquake)