MEDIA ADVISORY: Graphic Resources Available for Reporters Working on Northridge Earthquake Stories

As the 20th anniversary of the quake nears, the Southern California Earthquake Center offers graphics, animations, and interviews with people who were there

Contact: Mark Benthien at (213) 926-1683 or benthien@usc.edu; Robert Perkins at (213) 740-9226 or perkinsr@usc.edu

Friday, January 17 will mark the 20th anniversary of the devastating Northridge earthquake. The 6.7 magnitude temblor shook the Los Angeles area for more than 10 seconds in 1994, resulting in 57 deaths and $20 billion in damage.

The USC-based Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) has collected and prepared resources to support media outlets that are working on news stories about the event this week, which are available at scec.org/northridge and earthquakecountry.org/northridge.

These include maps and graphics demonstrating the significant advances in earthquake monitoring and the understanding of the faults beneath our feet over the past two decades.

For example:

• Before-and-after maps showing the expansion of the Southern California Seismic Network
• Before-and-after maps showing newly discovered faults, with blind thrust faults (like the one that caused the Northridge quake) highlighted
• Seismic Hazard maps from the 1990s and today;
• Animations showing the locations of faults beneath Southern California
• And interviews with individuals who experienced the Northridge Earthquake, along with maps that pinpoint where they were at the time.

In addition, several relevant presentations and events will be held this week. A full schedule can be found at earthquakecountry.org/northridge/events.

To set up an interview with an earthquake science expert who can help put it all in context, contact Mark Benthien at benthien@usc.edu.

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