Fear of earthquakes in Los Angeles in 1987


I moved to Southern California in 1982, and never gave earthquakes much thought until October 1st, 1987, when my apartment in the San Fernando Valley was rocked by the 6.1 Whittier earthquake. It was in the morning, and I was in the shower at the time, and while there really wasn't any serious damage, it left me with some psychological problems that went on for many years.

Part of the reason that I moved back to Phoenix in 1989 was the number of earthquakes that I would feel, especially late at night, which were all in my imagination. And even after I moved back to Arizona (far away from the San Andreas fault) I woke up in the wee hours hearing and feeling earthquakes for years and years. It finally went away.

Anyway, other than being a little shook up by the earthquake, no damage was done in my apartment that morning. I remember looking out of the window and seeing that the water had splashed up in places out of the pool next door, but there were no broken windows or anything like that.

My neighbor, whom I'll call Cory (since that's his name) lived in the apartment across from mine with his mom. He slept on a fold-out couch that was next to an entertainment center, which was a tall piece of wooden furniture that people used to put their TV on, and stereo, and books, and other stuff. He tells me that he woke up to seeing it beginning to fall on him. He's a big strong guy so he just held onto it until the shaking was over, and then pushed it back in place.

Yes, I know that the "Big One" is long overdue, and people just accepted that one day it would happen. No one that I knew really gave it much thought, the same way that I suppose the dinosaurs never worried about that big meteor. Speaking for myself, I'm an intelligent and rational man, and I made sure to wear my seat belt, not walk down dark alleys at night, be sure to lock my door, and avoid drinking milk that smelled bad. I didn't worry about the "Big One".

When I moved back to Arizona I remained earthquake-prepared. I kept water, canned food, and a flashlight in my apartment. I even attached my entertainment center to the wall, California style. Doing these things just seemed to make me sleep better. As the years went by I heard less and less earthquakes until finally I didn't feel them at all.

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