Northridge Earthquake Survivors Tell Their Stories:
30-year anniversary through the eyes of the community
“In the immediate years following the quake, everyone talked about what they would do if another one hit, what reinforcements had been done to vulnerable buildings and other contingency plans. Now, the earthquake is a distant history and I think many people have forgotten the lessons learned,” said long-time resident of San Fernando Valley, Carmen Ramos Chandler. Ramos Chandler is one of the many interviewees who shared their stories as survivors of the Northridge Earthquake.
On January 17, 1994 a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck the Northridge, San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles County area creating damage that took the community years to repair. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in Reseda, just one mile south of Northridge, according to a report published by the Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Neighborhood landmarks like the Northridge Mall and the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) campus were severely damaged. Buildings across the Valley had been red-tagged, indicating that destruction had been so severe that people were restricted from entering the premises without proper supervision.
January 2024 marks 30-years since the earthquake, and each survivor of the incident has a range of stories to tell about everything that happened and the things they experienced that day. Some subjects even spoke about their lives and the aftermath of the earthquake decades later. The stories shared below are meant to provide readers with a community perspective of the incident by highlighting a few of the many things that San Fernando Valley resident Northridge Earthquake survivors have to say.
1. Carmen Ramos Chandler, Northridge and Studio City
Carmen Ramos Chandler, a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News at the time and currently Director of Media Relations at CSUN, shared about what it was like to be a part of the campus community after the earthquake. Ramos Chandler also shared what it was like to experience the earthquake with her partner from their newly purchased home in Studio City.
“I’m hearing this roar, I mean a roar. I swear to God, it sounded like a freight train was going full speed straight to my bedroom,” said Ramos Chandler about the morning of the earthquake. “You’re used to the rolling earthquakes when they hit. This was violent, shaking, throwing, literally, throwing me up off the bed…like you know, the Exorcist or something and the bed rolled because we had hardwood floors…and there’s no bed underneath me.
Once she got her assignment to patrol Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, she began reporting, assessing the damage, observing and talking with residents.
2. H. Hoffman, Porter Ranch and Simi Valley
Hoffman, a long time resident of the San Fernando Valley, shared about the impacts of the earthquake beyond the physical. She shared about her personal experiences and also discussed the way residents were reacting to the environment around them.
3. Nicole Peterson, Woodland Hills and Tarzana
Nicole Peterson, a high school senior during the time of the earthquake, reflected on how much time has passed and the changes in the way the community memorializes the event.
4. Raymond Garcia, Glendale, Sylmar, Woodland Hills, Northridge, and Oceanside
Raymond Garcia shared his memories as a small, private school teacher in Reseda and as a survivor of the Sylmar earthquake of 1971.
“I had been in the earthquake before in 71. So… I was as prepared as you could be for something like that…had a flashlight, had hard shoes, had nothing hanging over my bed, had a clear path to get to– to the outside if I needed to….and whereas I got out of my room within seconds, my roommate was buried in stuff and it took him a good half an hour to dig his way out through all that….He was originally from Detroit, so this terrified him. He was absolutely over the top, terrified, scared. I don’t — although he didn’t say it, I know later on, because he got a flashlight for every single room after that. Every single room.”
5. Craig Baker, Van Nuys and Sylmar
Craig Baker wrote in, and recounted stories about his time as a construction electrician with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
“Much of the power distribution equipment was severely damaged in the North Valley, and I was one of a few dozen workers sent to the Rinaldi Receiving Station…we had four crews working 24 hours a day 7 days a week… trying to get the power back on in the community as soon as possible….Workers had pride in their ability to do what was needed to help. We worked hard, with few breaks….we would only stop working for a few seconds when an aftershock happened, holding our hands up in the air to avoid crushing fingers. The violent shaking never bothered anyone. Nothing did…. Everything inside my home hit the floor and broke, but that doesn’t matter because working extra hours more than made up for it financially. I was doing nothing but work and sleep, I did not see any news reports, or friends, in 1994.”
6. Nate Thomas, Koreatown and Northridge
Nate Thomas, a CSUN lecturer at the time and now head of the Film Production option, shared what the aftermath of the earthquake looked like on campus. He said the most vivid memory was seeing the CSUN damage.
Thomas wrote, “As a faculty member, about 3 weeks after the earthquake I was accompanied by emergency personnel as I needed to retrieve valuable teaching and personal materials. The building now called Cypress Hall was damaged but not destroyed. With required hardhats and escorts I was allowed in. The interior of the building and my office looked like a building in a war zone with destroyed walls, debris, desks and bookshelves overturned and windows all broken out. These scenarios were all around you. Once the campus was able to open, having to teach classes in mobile trailers (which were retrofitted as classrooms with blackboards, seating, video projectors and the technology of the time) was challenging.”
