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Earthquakes in Central California, 1980-1984 |
| There have been many earthquake occurrences in central California This set of slides shows earthquake damage from the following events: Livermore 1980, Coalinga 1983, and Morgan Hill 1984. All of these earthquakes had a magnitude of 5.9 or higher with damage estimates of eight million dollars or more. |
Fallen Bookcases at the Lawrence Livermore Lab | |
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The Livermore Earthquake of January 24, 1980. There was considerable damage to facilities at the Lawrence Livermore Lab. These overturned bookcases in the library are typical of the damage which occurred within the buildings. Light fixtures, acoustic tiles, electronic equipment, lamps, planters and blackboards were also damaged. Photo credit: U.S. Geological Survey |
Tilted bookcases at the Lawrence Livermore Lab | |
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The Livermore Earthquake of January 24, 1980. Tilted bookcases in the library at the Lawrence Livermore Lab. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey |
Tipped filing cabinets at the Lawrence Livermore Lab | |
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The Livermore Earthquake of January 24, 1980. Tipped filing cabinets and other office equipment at the Lawrence Livermore Lab. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey |
Aerial View of 5th Street and Elm Avenue, Coalinga | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. Aerial view of the north corner of 5th Street and Elm Avenue. Burned debris at the upper right is from the Coalinga Inn, site of the only major fire caused by the earthquake. Some buildings totally failed, other buildings in the area had only limited damage. The open fronts at street level had only glass breakage. Photo credit: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute |
Street Level View of Damaged Building at 5th Street and Elm Avenue, Coaling | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. In this building at the north corner of 5th Street and Elm Avenue, 20 cm thick, second-story walls collapsed at the northeast and southeast. The parapet collapsed at the southwest. The street level at the southwest and southeast had open framing. Collapse of the second-story wall caused roof failure in the building at right. Photo credit: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute |
Close-up View of Building at Corner of 5th Street and Elm Avenue, Coalinga | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. The building at the north corner of 5th Street and Elm Avenue. The photo shows failure of the masonry walls. Photo Credit: M. Hopper, U.S. Geological Survey |
Roof Collapse in Central Business District, Coalinga | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. Collapse of wood-frame building built before 1930 in the central business district. The building collapsed when the wall of the building to the right fell through its roof. Photo Credit: M. Hopper, U.S. Geological Survey |
Damage to State Theater Building, Coalinga, 1980-1984 | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. The State Theater building, 171 West Elm Avenue, had walls of hollow, ungrouted concrete block. The corners at roof level were separated and damaged by displacement relative to the unreinforced masonry wall. At the rear of the building, the roof over the stage area collapsed onto the floor. The arch over the stage and the trussing of the roof over the auditorium survived. Photo Credit: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) |
Wall Damage to Building in Downtown Coalinga | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. Damage to building at 187 South 6th Street, in the downtown area. Collapse of a second story 20 cm bearing wall caused partial collapse of the roof. There was complete separation of veneer brick on the right-hand unreinforced masonry wall. Photo Credit: M. Hopper, U.S. Geological Survey |
Second Floor Wall Failure on Coalinga House | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. Failure of second floor walls of house at Hawthorne and Fifth Streets. Second floor bedrooms are exposed. Note apparently undamaged two-story, wood-frame building on the right. Photo Credit: M. Hopper, U.S. Geological Survey |
Porch Columns Damage, Residence in Coalinga | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. Frame house with twisted porch columns. Most of the 2,700 homes in Coalinga were damaged, and more than 300 were uninhabitable after the earthquake. Many older homes had walls that were not anchored to the foundations. Photo Credit: M. Hopper, U.S. Geological Survey |
Total Collapse of Front of Residence, Coalinga | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. Collapse of porch, front walls, and roof of wood-frame dwelling. Most of the older houses surrounding the downtown area were badly damaged. Front porches failed because of the lack of a lateral-force-resisting system. Photo Credit: M. Hopper, U.S. Geological Survey |
Interior Damage, Coalinga Junior High School | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. Contents fell from shelves in the Coalinga Junior High School home economics building. Windows broke, plaster cracked, and overhead light fixtures fell and broke. Photo Credit: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute |
Interior Damage, Coalinga Junior High School | |
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The Coalinga Earthquake of May 2, 1983. This failure of pendant light fixtures in the Dawson Elementary School library would have caused many injuries if the library had been occupied. Other damage included cracks in walls, fallen ceiling tiles and plaster, and moveable objects thrown to the floor. Photo Credit: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute |
Landslide near Morgan Hill | |
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Earthquake of April 24, 1984, Morgan Hill, California. Landslide at Dunne Avenue, 7.5 km east of Morgan Hill. A nearby bridge was structurally damaged and closed to traffic. Photo Credit: Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project |
Residence Damage, Morgan Hill | |
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Earthquake of April 24, 1984, Morgan Hill, California. Exterior view of wood frame house in Jackson Oaks, a subdivision of Morgan Hill. Damage was caused by ground failure. Note cracks in pavement in front of house. Photo Credit: Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project |
Cracks in Roadway, Morgan Hill | |
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Earthquake of April 24, 1984, Morgan Hill, California. Cracks caused by lateral spreading of the pavement on Dunne Avenue. Part of the roadway has slumped toward the embankment. Photo Credit: Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project |
Roadway and Garage Damage, Jackson Oaks (Morgan Hill) | |
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Earthquake of April 24, 1984, Morgan Hill, California. Garage under a home at Jackson Oaks. This type of construction is often damaged during earthquakes; the weight is located over the open garage area which usually has few vertical supports. The cracking around the garage door shown here was typical of damage in this quake. Cracking caused by lateral spreading is visible on the driveway in front of the home. Photo Credit: Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project |
Residence Moved off Foundation, Jackson Oaks (Morgan Hill) | |
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Earthquake of April 24, 1984, Morgan Hill, California. This wood-frame structure in Jackson Oaks moved horizontally. It fell off its foundation when inadequate nailing and ground failure resulted in failure of its walls. Photo Credit: Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project |
Liquefaction Damage to Earthen Dam, Morgan Hill | |
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Earthquake of April 24, 1984, Morgan Hill, California. Effects of earthquake-induced liquefaction (shaking of soils that causes them to behave as liquids) near Anderson Dam. Cracks occurred on the crest of the dam. There was concentrated damage near the south end of Anderson Reservoir. Photo Credit: Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project |