Oral+History+Interview

I interviewed my mother, Diane Schlesinger, about the 1994 Los Angeles Earthquake.

1. What were you doing when the LA earthquake started? What do you remember most? //At the time of the 1994 earthquake, I was living in Westwood, about 15 miles southeast of the epicenter of the earthquake. The earthquake struck in the early morning, and I was sleeping. I remember being woken by the shaking and yelling “earthquake”. The earthquake was very loud, and I remember hearing the sound of breaking glass as glasses were shaken out of the cabinets and fell and shattered. The electricity went out from the earthquake, and it was pitch dark outside after the earthquake as all lights were knocked out by the loss of electricity. I remember neighbors coming outside with flashlights to check on each other.// 2. What was the media coverage of the earthquake like? How big of a deal was this compared to other LA earthquakes (as they are somewhat common in the Los Angeles area)?

//At first, we didn’t have television since the electricity was out. But, we could listen to our battery operated radio. Our electricity came on a few hours after the earthquake. Television coverage was 24/7. Residents were advised to stay home. I was working downtown as an attorney at that time, and our offices were closed for several days while the city assessed whether roads, bridges and buildings were safe. The freeway that I usually took to work (the 10) collapsed in the earthquake, and I had to commute on streets to work for the next 9 months.// //It is hard to compare the media coverage of this earthquake to other earthquakes because while earthquakes are somewhat common in Los Angeles, major earthquakes are not that common. The last major earthquake in Los Angeles before 1994 was 1971 (and I remember that one too).//

3. What was the immediate impact of the earthquake, and what was the long term effect? What was the mood of the people in LA? //The immediate impact of the earthquake was that people were in fear. There are always aftershocks (smaller quakes) after a major earthquake, and it is frightening to experience multiple quakes in a short time span. About a week after the quake, our house was “yellow-tagged”. This meant it was unsafe to inhabit a portion of the house. Some houses were red-tagged – that meant they were unsafe to inhabit. For our house, our house’s tall chimney had cracked, and we needed to have it repaired. It took a long time to find a contractor who could make the required repair.// //The long term effect was that new laws were enacted, building codes were changed (we had to retrofit our house to bolt the foundation), and people took additional safety precautions to prepare for future quakes (earthquake kits in house, special shutoff tool for gas meter, stockpile water and food, keep slippers near bed (to be able to walk without stepping on broken glass), flashlight in nightstand, etc.)// 4. Did the experience change you in anyway? How? //I learned a few things from the earthquake about preparedness. A lot of my drinking glasses broke in the earthquake because our cabinets did not have latches to keep the cabinet doors shut. After the earthquake, we installed childproof locks on all of our cabinets (even though we didn’t have kids yet). We also attached large pieces of furniture such as armoires to the walls with special straps. For framed items hanging on the walls, we secured them with a strong Velcro tape.//