Earthquakes do not have the frequency rate of other natural events. However, history shows the results of an event of significant magnitude is responsible for the loss of life, injuries, destruction of property, and a threat to the environment. Earthquakes can trigger other events; such as the loss of containment for hazardous material, debris flows, and igniting fires. Geological studies place the City in a liquefaction zone. Liquefaction is a phenomenon where soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress (like an earthquake) and the soil behaves like a liquid. The faults and fault zones near and around the City have the potential to generate an earthquake event of significant magnitude. Recovery and resumption from a major event can be lengthy and costly.
The most significant earthquake in the City of Sierra Madre was the Sierra Madre Earthquake. At 7:43 a.m. on June 28, 1991 this 5.8 earthquake struck. The epicenter was 7.5 miles northeast of Sierra Madre and damage totaled $12.5 million. There were 18 personal injuries; 403 structures damaged; 2 businesses uninhabitable; 22 homes condemned (many in west Sierra Madre on Sunnyside and Lima Streets). Other problems included 36 toppled chimneys, 2 damaged church bell towers, 17 natural gas leaks, 6 water leaks and 4 hazardous materials leaks. The fire department received 150 calls. Sierra Madre School served as an emergency shelter.
Other nearby communities that were affected were the cities of Arcadia, Azusa, Irwindale, Monrovia, Pasadena and Rosemead. This was the most recent major rupture of the Sierra Madre fault.
Why Are Earthquakes a Threat to the City of Sierra Madre?
(Cited from the City of Sierra Madre Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan)
The most recent significant earthquake event affecting Southern California was the January 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake. At 4:31 A.M. on Monday, January 17, a moderate but very damaging earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck the San Fernando Valley. In the following days and weeks, thousands of aftershocks occurred, causing additional damage to affected structures.
57 people were killed and more than 1,500 people seriously injured. For days afterward, thousands of homes and businesses were without electricity; tens of thousands had no gas; and nearly 50,000 had little or no water. Approximately 15,000 structures were moderately to severely damaged, which left thousands of people temporarily homeless. 66,500 buildings were inspected. Nearly 4,000 were severely damaged and over 11,000 were moderately damaged. Several collapsed bridges and overpasses created commuter havoc on the freeway system. Extensive damage was caused by ground shaking, but earthquake triggered liquefaction and dozens of fires also caused additional severe damage. This extremely strong ground motion in large portions of Los Angeles County resulted in record economic losses.
However, the earthquake occurred early in the morning on a holiday. This circumstance considerably reduced the potential effects. Many collapsed buildings were unoccupied, and most businesses were not yet open. The direct and indirect economic losses ran into the 10's of billions of dollars.
Historical and geological records show that California has a long history of seismic events. Southern California is probably best known for the San Andreas Fault, a 400 mile long fault running from the Mexican border to a point offshore, west of San Francisco. “Geologic studies show that over the past 1,400 to 1,500 years large earthquakes have occurred at about 130 year intervals on the southern San Andreas Fault. As the last large earthquake on the southern San Andreas occurred in 1857, that section of the fault is considered a likely location for an earthquake within the next few decades.”
But San Andreas is only one of dozens of known earthquake faults that zigzag Southern California. Some of the better known faults include the Newport-Inglewood, Whittier, Chatsworth, Elsinore, Hollywood, Los Alamitos, and Palos Verdes faults. Beyond the known faults, there are a potentially large number of “blind” faults that underlie the surface of Southern California. One such blind fault was involved in the Whittier Narrows earthquake in October 1987.
Although the most famous of the faults, the San Andreas, is capable of producing an earthquake with a magnitude of 8+ on the Richter scale, some of the “lesser” faults have the potential to inflict greater damage on the urban core of the Los Angeles Basin. Seismologists believe that a 6.0 earthquake on the Newport-Inglewood would result in 51 far more death and destruction than a “great” quake on the San Andreas, because the San Andreas is relatively remote from the urban centers of Southern California.
For decades, partnerships have flourished between the USGS, Cal Tech, the California Geological Survey and universities to share research and educational efforts with Californians. Tremendous earthquake mapping and mitigation efforts have been made in California in the past two decades, and public awareness has risen remarkably during this time. Major federal, state, and local government agencies and private organizations support earthquake risk reduction, and have made significant contributions in reducing the adverse impacts of earthquakes. Despite the progress, the majority of California communities remain unprepared because there is a general lack of understanding regarding earthquake hazards among Californians.
Community Earthquake Issues
What is Susceptible to Earthquakes?
Earthquake damage occurs because humans have built structures that cannot withstand severe shaking. Buildings, airports, schools, and lifelines (highways and utility lines) suffer damage in earthquakes and can cause death or injury to humans. The welfare of homes, major businesses, and public infrastructure is very important. Addressing the reliability of buildings, critical facilities, and infrastructure, and understanding the potential costs to government, businesses, and individuals as a result of an earthquake, are challenges faced by the City.
Dams
There are a total of 103 dams in Los Angeles County, owned by 23 agencies or organizations, ranging from the Federal government to Home Owner Associations. These dams hold billions of gallons of water in reservoirs. Releases of water from the major reservoirs are designed to protect Southern California from flood waters and to store domestic water. Seismic activity can compromise the dam structures, and the resultant flooding could cause catastrophic flooding. Following the 1971 Sylmar earthquake the Lower Van Norman Dam showed signs of structural compromise, and tens of thousands of persons had to be evacuated until the dam could be drained. The dam has never been refilled. The City of Sierra Madre does not have any water inundation dams.
Buildings
The built environment is susceptible to damage from earthquakes. Buildings that collapse can trap and bury people. Lives are at risk and the cost to clean up the damages is great. In most California communities, including the City of Sierra Madre, many buildings were built before 1993 when building codes were not as strict. In addition, retrofitting is not required except under certain conditions and can be expensive. Therefore, the number of buildings at risk remains high. The California Seismic Safety Commission makes annual reports on the progress of the retrofitting of unreinforced masonry buildings.
Infrastructure and Communication
Residents in the City of Sierra Madre commute frequently through personal automobiles and public transit such as buses and light rail. An earthquake can greatly damage bridges and roads, hampering emergency response efforts and the normal movement of people and goods. Damaged infrastructure strongly affects the economy of the community because it disconnects people from work, school, food, and leisure, and separates businesses from their customers and suppliers.
Bridge Damage
Damage to surrounding communities’ bridges may result in a delay of mutual aid service response. Even modern bridges can sustain damage during earthquakes, leaving them unsafe for use. Some bridges have failed completely due to strong ground motion. Bridges are a vital transportation link - with even minor damages making some areas inaccessible. Because bridges vary in size, materials, location and design, any given earthquake will affect them differently. Bridges built before the mid-1970' s have a significantly higher risk of suffering structural damage during a moderate to large earthquake compared with those built after 1980 when design improvements were made. Sierra Madre has approximately eight small bridges that traverse the Los Angeles County flood control channel. These bridges are located in the Canyon area of the City and are relatively small in nature, ranging from 15’-20 wide to 20’ long.
Much of the interstate highway system was built in the mid to late 1960's. Cal Trans has retrofitted most bridges on the freeway systems; however there are still some county maintained bridges that are not retrofitted. The Federal Highway Administration requires that bridges on the National Bridge Inventory be inspected every 2 years. Caltrans checks when the bridges are inspected because they administer Federal funds for bridge projects.
Damage to Lifelines
Lifelines are the connections between communities and outside services. They include water and gas lines, transportation systems, electricity, and communication networks. Ground shaking and amplification can cause pipes to break open, power lines to fall, roads and railways to crack or move, and radio and telephone communication to cease. Disruption to transportation makes it especially difficult to bring in supplies or services. Lifelines need to be usable after earthquake to allow for rescue, recovery, and rebuilding efforts and to relay important information to the public.
Disruption of Critical Services
Critical facilities include police stations, fire stations, and other facilities that provide important services to the community. These facilities and their services need to be functional after an earthquake event. All of the City’s critical facilities are have been built since 1976 and are up to current seismic codes.
Businesses
Seismic activity can cause great loss to businesses, both large-scale corporations and small retail shops. When a company is forced to stop production for just a day, the economic loss can be tremendous, especially when its market is at a national or global level. Seismic activity can create economic loss that presents a burden to large and small shop owners who may have difficulty recovering from their losses.
Forty percent of businesses do not reopen after a disaster and another twenty-five percent fail within one year according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Similar statistics from the United States Small Business Administration indicate that over ninety percent of businesses fail within two years after being struck by a disaster.
Individual Preparedness
Because the potential for earthquake occurrences and earthquake related property damage is relatively high in the City of Sierra Madre, increasing individual preparedness is a significant need. Strapping down heavy furniture, water heaters, and expensive personal property, as well as being earthquake insured, and anchoring buildings to foundations are just a few steps individuals can take to prepare for an earthquake. Residents are encouraged to be “Ready for 7” – to be prepared and able to shelter in place for at least 7 days.
Death and Injury
Death and injury can occur both inside and outside of buildings due to collapsed buildings falling equipment, furniture, debris, and structural materials. Downed power lines and broken water and gas lines can also endanger human life.
Fire
Downed power lines or broken gas mains can trigger fires. When fire stations suffer building or lifeline damage, quick response to extinguish fires is less likely. Furthermore, major incidents will demand a larger share of resources, and initially smaller fires and problems will receive little or insufficient resources in the initial hours after a major earthquake event. Loss of electricity may cause a loss of water pressure in some communities, further hampering firefighting ability.
Debris
After damage to a variety of structures, much time is spent cleaning up brick, glass, wood, steel or concrete building elements, office and home contents, and other materials.