Gadders said she learned a lesson she recalls to this day. (Daily News File Photo), A chimney collapsed following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), A plaque photographed on February 4, 2021, at Veterans Memorial Community Regional Park in Sylmar honoring those who lost their lives during the 1971 earthquake. It is crucial that hospitals remain standing and operable for the safety of patients, visitors, … We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. in the city of San Fernando was severely damaged during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The intense shaking crumbled a six-story, newly opened psychiatric ward at the county’s Olive View … Buildings Building failures Cynthia Smith was just 19-years-old when catastrophe struck at the old Olive View Hospital in Sylmar back in 1971. In 1962, Olive View Hospital performed the first open heart surgery successfully in the San Fernando Valley, and one of the first in Southern California. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Veterans Hospital in Sylmar on the day of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. | Photo: Courtesy USGS At 6:00 a.m. on February 9, 1971, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake - the first large quake in the Los Angeles area in nearly 38 years -- shook the Southland, and was centered in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Sylmar. (Daily News File Photo), A hillside collapsed on to Foothill Blvd. 1971 Sylmar temblor sparked damage, death –…, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Judge checks out North Hollywood tiny homes, 1971 Sylmar temblor sparked damage, death – and changed how we feel about, prepare for quakes, How the 1971 Sylmar earthquake changed the lives of two first responders, Small earthquake shakes parts of Southern California, LA man struck and killed by vehicle while crossing PCH near Pacific Palisades, Metro rail line extension to Torrance tracking closer to possible 2028 opening, Coronavirus: Average new US cases below 100K for 1st time in months, On Parkland anniversary, Biden calls for tougher gun laws, Think a pandemic hurt the economy? A sheriff deputy outside the collapsed Olive View Hospital in Selma following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Patients were moved to an open area at the Veterans Hospital following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The reshaping of laws and construction rules and other standards continue to this day. (Daily News File Photo), The Golden State Freeway at the Foothill over-crossing on the day of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), A worker sweeps broken glass during the cleanup efforts following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. USGS. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com. #. She also supports the paper in its watchdog role to hold San Fernando Valley power players accountable and loves digging for public records. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)), The front page of the Valley News, published on the day of the earthquake. Heaton added that the 1971 temblor prepared the city for another devastating earthquake that would strike San Fernando Valley neighborhoods nearly 20 years later. The destruction of the old Olive View Hospital and the old Veterans Administration Hospital in the Sylmar quake led to the Hospital Safety Act, which requires hospitals to … (Daily News File Photo), Ambulances were crushed under the collapsed carport at Olive View Hospital during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Hundreds of residents below the dam were evacuated. Ripping along a 12.5-mile fault area beneath the San Gabriel Mountains, the quake’s epicenter was in the vicinity of Six Flags Magic Mountain, about six miles northeast of Sylmar, at a depth of about seven miles. The San Fernando Veterans Administration Hospital suffered severe damage, killing at least 44 people. Credits. The intense shaking crumbled the newly constructed Olive View Community Hospital in Sylmar, killing three people and forcing 1,000 patients and personnel to evacuate. For those who still work there . Nearby, in Sylmar, the first floor of the newly built six-story Olive View Hospital was pulverized, and three people died. View is north. (Daily News File Photo) Sound The gallery will resume inseconds. Hundreds of residents below the dam were evacuated. Creator . The Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Safety Act of 1973 was strengthened in each of the two succeeding decades. Now a Red Cross LA disaster volunteer, she lived in North Hollywood in 1971. (Daily News File Photo), A chimney collapsed following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Library staff and Bureau of Public Buildings were able to get the library reopened before the end of February. Unknown. OVMC is on an alluvial deposit. Along the way, she picked up awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists. Although public schools in California had already been adhering to higher seismic standards decades prior to the Sylmar quake — the Field Act governing design and construction standards for schools was enacted in 1933 following the Long Beach earthquake — a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District noted that each earthquake results in new findings and that the state’s building standards code have been updated about 15 times since the quake of 1971. “This includes requirements that building materials be tested by a Division of the State Architect certified testing lab to ensure quality and safety; soil testing and geotechnical considerations be conducted to ensure seismic risks are mitigated; additional bracing installed to keep ceilings from collapsing; and a requirement that construction is monitored and certified by DSA inspectors,” according to an LAUSD statement. (Daily News File Photo), Major portions of the Veterans Administration hospital in Sylmar lie in ruins following southern California earthquake in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 1971. (Daily News File Photo), A section of the Golden State Freeway in Sylmar after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. She was 7 years old back then. “It was a crazy day.”. The "Olive View Hospital" sequence in this episode was filmed at the severely-damaged Olive View Hospital in Sylmar, California, USA. But some of Sylmar's ripples will continue well into this century. (Daily News File Photo), Built in 1872, the Maclay House , on the northeast corner of Fourth Street and Brand Blvd. (Daily News File Photo), A collapsed wall on the sidewalk at the Olive View Hospital after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. 8 x 10 in. (Daily News File Photo), Bulldozers move debris at the Veterans Hospital in Sylmar following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Location Taken: CA, US. (Daily News File Photo), A sheriff deputy outside the collapsed Olive View Hospital in Selma following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Much like the Northridge Earthquake … (Daily News File Photo), San Fernando Rd. If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. “Back to normal” never happened, many say. in the city of San Fernando was severely damaged during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. A Highway Patrol officer inspects the scene of the collapsed Foothill over-crossing on the northbound Golden State Freeway. A similar pat- Following the 1971 jolt, the Hospital Safety Act of 1972 ensured that new or retrofitted hospital buildings would be designed and built so they could provide services following such a disaster. Auto Level image processing applied and compressed into JPG format using Photoshop CS3. (Daily News File Photo), Vice President Spiro Agnew visits the quake damage areas just days after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. jcg_earthquakes_1971_006. (Daily News File Photo), The Old Hubbard House located on the southwest corner of Fourth St. and Brand Blvd. (Daily News File Photo), Rescue efforts included cranes as workers searched through the rubble following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), A hillside collapsed on to Foothill Blvd. SYLMAR, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Cynthia Smith was just 19-years-old when catastrophe struck at the old Olive View Hospital in Sylmar back in 1971. The tremor was felt for 300 miles along the southern California coastal region and as far inland as Las Vegas. (Daily News File Photo), Rescue efforts at the Veterans Hospital in Sylmar after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Olive View Hospital now. Buildings shifted off their foundations. Her alarm went off just as the shaking began. (Daily News File Photo) (Daily News File Photo), Quake-damaged Olive View Medical Center following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo) Patients were moved to an open area at the Veterans Hospital following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Rescue efforts included cranes as workers searched through the rubble following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. “Retrofitting a building is always a worthwhile investment,” Jones said. (Daily News File Photo), A news helicopter flies over a damaged section of the Van Norman resievior. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. Medical centers were dealt deadly blows, arguably the quake’s most devastating impacts. Shortly after 6 a.m. on Feb. 9, 1971, the Sylmar quake stopped the clocks at Olive View Hospital. The areas that were affected by the strongest shaking were the outlying communities north of Los Angeles that are bounded by the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Arrows point to portions of Olive View Medical Center structure, torn loose from the quake’s force during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), The I-5 Freeway at the 14 Freeway on February 4, 2021. (Daily News File Photo), Workers remove patients belongings and medical equipment a little more than a month after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. If you want to get on her bright side, she loves a perfect cup of matcha latte. (Daily News File Photo), A clock frozen at the time of the quake inside Olive View Hospital following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Olive View Hospital after the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), A section of the Golden State Freeway in Sylmar after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Nonetheless, life would never be the same in Southern California. (Daily News File Photo), A worker sweeps broken glass during the cleanup efforts following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. . After the 1971 Sylmar earthquake damaged several hospitals, California embarked on an ambitious hospital safety program. “We had a clear indication that hospitals were not built to standards that they needed to be so that they could function both through and after an earthquake,” Bohlen said. (Daily News File Photo), The 1100 block San Fernando Rd. Two of the San Fernando Veterans Administration Hospital’s buildings were destroyed. For several days, authorities evacuated more than 80,000 people below the dam as engineers emptied the water. (Daily News File Photo), Rescue efforts at the Veterans Hospital in Sylmar after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The ground we live on, she said, “is not stable, nor is it quiet.”, Staff reporter Linh Tat contributed to this story.Â. The tragic toll: 64 deaths, 2,000 injuries and property damage costing more than a half-billion dollars. 1971-02. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. Photographer (Daily News File Photo), Ambulances were crushed under the collapsed carport at Olive View Hospital during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. 1971-02. Then they would shift positions. Freeway interchanges collapsed. (Daily News File Photo), Removing debris at Olive View following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Patients were moved to an open area at the Veterans Hospital following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Removing debris at Olive View following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. View is north. Scanned with Microtek Scanmaker 1000XL Pro; as a 600 dpi TIFF image in 8-bit Grayscale. Ambulances were crushed under the collapsed carport at Olive View Hospital during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Part of the Old Olive View Hospital destroyed in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Ambulances were crushed under the collapsed carport at Olive View Hospital during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The Northridge earthquake killed 60 people and injured 9,000, pounding the region for $20 billion in property damage. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Businesses were severely damaged in the 1100 block of San Fernando Road following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Built in 1872, the Maclay House , on the northeast corner of Fourth Street and Brand Blvd. At least seven persons perished as buildings collapsed and authorities said another 54 were missing. The monitors provide information on vibrations that the ground experiences adjacent to buildings, bridges and other structures, Bohlen added. “The Sylmar quake was a wake-up call to the state,” said Steve Bohlen, the acting state geologist of California and head of the California Geological Survey. Four five-story wings pulled … Lucy Jones, the founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society and research associate at the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech, said prior to the 1971 quake, the attitude of California officials was “not talk about earthquakes because that would discourage people from moving here.”, “We sort of knew we had risk but we didn’t really talk about it,” she said. Two fallen structurally separated stair towers and the collapsed basement at Olive View Hospital after the San Fernando earthquake in February 1971. Date Taken: 1971 (approx.) Details. (Daily News File Photo), Structure fire at 11835 Wicks St. in Sun Valley as a result of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The 6.6 magnitude Sylmar earthquake rumbled across the San Fernando Valley at about 6 a.m. on Feb. 9, 1971. The purpose of this paper is to study the response of the conventionally designed new Olive View Medical Center (OVMC) building at 16 km from the epicenter of the January 17, 1994 Northridge, California earthquake (Ms = 6.8). The devastation led to changes that eventually made California a safer place, many contend. View Description. The state also enacted the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zones act to limit construction along active faults, to mitigate damage from surface fault rupture. Her family braced themselves over and again as aftershock after aftershock struck. July 18, 2018. and construction. The quake also revealed the need to strengthen the area’s infrastructure and protect water supplies. This was not a natural event the population could ignore. Two men, Art Mikkelsen of San Fernando and his passenger Milton Gonne of Van Nuys were on their way to work. Internal Date . So began an afternoon of reminiscence about the hours after the 6.6-magnitude quake hit on Feb. 9, 1971. That spurred Los Angeles to adopt an ordinance requiring owners of unreinforced masonry buildings of more than four units to retrofit them, preventing the fall of the structures’ walls. It was a scary memory. She earned her master’s degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and has published articles with Reuters, Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Business Journal and LA Weekly. Olga Grigoryants is a multimedia reporter focusing on urban development, business and culture. After studying writing in Moscow, she moved to Los Angeles in 2007 and has called it home ever since. (Daily News File Photo) The Granada Hills branch of the public library as appeared the day after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. : The Shaking Never Stops (Daily News File Photo), The Golden State Freeway at the Foothill over-crossing following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Block walls collapsed in a Granada Hills Neighborhood following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Image Dimensions: 3483 x 2329. at Wentworth Ave. after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Thomas Heaton, a Caltech professor of geology, said the Sylmar quake “made an enormous difference in the science of earthquakes,” helping scientists to understand the physics of how they occur and how buildings react to the shaking. Olive View Hospital earthquake damage. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. (Daily News File Photo) The Olive View … (Daily News File Photo), The Peoples clothing store and the Mission City Hotel on the San Fernando Mall were severely damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. And yet, it could have been worse had the region not been working to tighten building standards, improve the infrastructure and make other changes in response to the Sylmar temblor. (Daily News File Photo), A sheriff’s deputy watches as a priest administers last rights to a victim killed in the quake at Olive View Medical Center following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo) “Their doorway was leaning to the left and my doorway was leaning to the right, all at the same time. Both the Veteran's Administration Hospital and Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar were severely damaged, accounting for many of the deaths. It was then rebuilt to a new, higher earth - quake code. (Daily News File Photo), A slide on to Foothill Blvd. Two fallen structurally separated stair towers and the collapsed basement at Olive View Hospital after the San Fernando earthquake in February 1971. (Daily News File Photo), Bulldozers move debris at the Veterans Hospital in Sylmar following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. on the San Fernando Mall today, February 8, 2021, numerous business and residences were severely damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Seven lives were lost at the Veterans Administration Hospital, 39000 Sayer St. in the Sylmar area and two died in a structural collapse at Olive View Hospital and Sanitarium, 14701 Foothill Blvd., Olive View. The freeways suffered extensive damage in both the 1971 and 1994 earthquakes. . For example, Olive View Medical Center in California was severely damaged in the 1971 San Fernando quake. The earthquake revealed the need to retrofit structures, added Dr. Lucy Jones, perhaps the most high-profile of the nation’s quake experts. California has required new hospital buildings to meet earthquake standards since 1974, following a 1971 magnitude 6.5 earthquake in the San Fernando Valley … How we talked, even how we felt about earthquakes was different now, experts said. Two men, Art Mikkelsen of San Fernando and his passenger Milton Gonne of Van Nuys were on their way to work. on the San Fernando Mall today, February 8, 2021, where the Peoples clothing store and the Mission City Hotel were severely damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The intense shaking crumbled the newly constructed Olive View Community Hospital in … near Wentworth Ave. after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Extra Large. Fallen stairwell tower and collapsed basement of Olive View Hospital due to the February 9, 1971 San Fernando, California earthquake. In the following weeks, more than 200 aftershocks with a magnitude topping 3 rattled across the region. “My bed rolled back and forth,” she recalled. Filename . The California Geological Survey began creating maps of known active faults over the last 12,000 years. Experts warn the ‘big one’ would cost billions, With earthquake threat ever-present, ShakeOut Day in the San Fernando Valley is all about ‘Drop, Cover and Hold’, LA business owners need to be ready for a huge earthquake, or ‘you risk losing it all,’ group says. near Wentworth Ave. after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. In the following days after the shaking, LADWP ensured the 1,100-foot dam was emptied enough to bring back residents to the nearby neighborhoods and maintain a reliable water supply, Davis said. (Daily News File Photo), Old Olive View support station on Olive View Dr. after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Arrows point to portions of Olive View Medical Center structure, torn loose from the quake’s force during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. After he freed himself, he joined the rescue effort following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Quake-damaged Olive View Medical Center following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com. It killed 65 people – including three at Olive View and 49 at the … That enables geologists to study how the ground is shaking outside buildings — vital information for engineers on how to build earthquake-resistant structures. Bill Walker, center, 22, a patient at the hospital was pinned to his bed following the quake. It was also the worst earthquake to befall the Valley since an 1893 quake near Newhall. As she knocked on the front door of the home of a friend across the street, a big jolt struck hit and a sliding door shattered before her eyes. Olive View Medical Center after the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake. The hospital was founded on October 27, 1920, as a tuberculosis (TB) sanatorium to relieve overcrowding at County General Hospital, and when it was no longer needed for TB treatment, the facilities became an acute care hospital in 1970. The newly built, earthquake-resistant buildings at the Olive View Hospital in Sylmar were destroyed during the 1971 earthquake. The area where the heaviest effects were present was limited by geographical features on the three remaining margins, with the Santa Susana Mountains on the west, the The unincorporated districts of Newhall, Saugus, and Solemint Junction had moderate damage, even to newer buildings. This collection includes photographs of damage caused by the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.Earthquake damage at the Olive View Hospital from the Sylmar earthquake of February 9, 1971. At Olive View Medical Center, two buildings collapsed in 1971, and three people died, including two patients on life-support systems that failed when auxiliary generators did not start. Luckily, on the morning of the quake, the dam was only half full. “It was a real shock to a lot of people for a variety of reasons.”, A Highway Patrol officer inspects the scene of the collapsed Foothill over-crossing on the northbound Golden State Freeway. In 1972, the state established the California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program, a network of seismometers throughout the state. Nearly 80,000 residents evacuated their homes. Related: How the 1971 Sylmar earthquake changed the lives of two first responders. (Daily News File Photo), The Golden State Freeway at the Foothill over-crossing on the day of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. in San Fernando was severely damaged by the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Injured victims at the Veterans Hospital are being prepared to board a helicopter bound for Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Arrows point to portions of Olive View Medical Center structure, torn loose from the quake’s force during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. (Daily News File Photo), Businesses were severely damaged in the 1100 block of San Fernando Road following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The magnitude 6.6 Sylmar earthquake shook Southern California on Feb. 9, 1971, causing significant damage and 64 deaths. Damage to Olive View Hospital after the 6.6 Sylmar Earthquake in 1971. Mimi Teller Rosicky remembers that morning 50 years ago vividly. (Daily News File Photo), Quake-damaged Olive View Medical Center following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake.