Why was the Loma Prieta earthquake important?
It was the strongest earthquake to hit the area since the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The earthquake significantly damaged the transportation system of the Bay Area. The collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct (Nimitz Freeway) caused most of the earthquake-related deaths.
What fault caused the Loma Prieta earthquake?
The epicenter was on the San Andreas fault roughly 56 miles south of San Francisco and 10 miles northeast of Santa Cruz, near Mt. Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
What happened during the Loma Prieta earthquake?
The Loma Prieta earthquake was triggered by the mighty San Andreas Fault, where the massive Pacific plate slips northwestward. During the quake, the epicenter slipped up to two meters. The Loma Prieta earthquake caused 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries, and about $6 billion in damage.
What kind of earthquake was the Loma Prieta earthquake?
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California’s Central Coast on October 17 at 5:04 p.m. local time….1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
| Image of collapsed Cypress freeway structure in Oakland, California | |
|---|---|
| Santa Cruz Oakland Salinas | |
| Depth | 19 km (12 mi) |
| Epicenter | 37.04°N 121.88°WCoordinates:37.04°N 121.88°W |
| Type | Oblique-slip reverse |
Which US state has the lowest seismic activity?
Is there any place in the world that doesn’t have earthquakes? Florida and North Dakota are the states with the fewest earthquakes.
What can we learn from the Loma Prieta earthquake?
From the earliest hours following impact, as initial reconnaissance efforts got under way, it was evident that the Loma Prieta earthquake would become an important case study for the various disciplines concerned with earthquake hazard reduction.
How far up did the Pacific Plate move during Loma Prieta?
The Pacific plate moved 6.2 feet to the northwest and 4.3 feet upward over the North American plate during Loma Prieta. Magnitude is a measure of an earthquake’s size, but rather than being a direct measure of the level of ground shaking, it is a measurement of the strength of the seismic sound waves given off by the earthquake.
How many customers lost power during Loma Prieta?
More than 150,000 customers lost power during Loma Prieta. Today that figure would be closer to 500,000, because of the area’s increasing population density.
Where is the Loma Prieta mainshock?
122° 37° San Juan Bautistav, Location of the Loma Prieta mainshock and aftershocks are shown in relation to the San Andreas fault. The distribution of the after shocks indicates that the fault slipped along a 25-mile segment from southwest of Los Gatos to north of San Juan Bautista.