A sidewalk used by earthquake scientists in the Bay Area has been destroyed
Photos: LA Times
Here's an interesting article from The LA Times highlighting the battle between man-made objects and natural forces. This sidewalk in the Bay Area sits right on the Hayward Fault and its gradual misalignment over the years has given earthquake scientists a real-world gauge of just how much the plates underneath the city are moving. Scientists have long predicted that this area will be ground zero for a massive earthquake and one look at just how much the sidewalk, houses, and roadways are moving above it means they are probably right. It's just a matter of time...
You can see just how much the sidewalk has moved over the years in these photos.
The LA Times article was written however because the city recently fixed the jutting sidewalk. I guess nobody told them?
22 years since the Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles
Photo: FEMA
I've posted about this event before on previous versions of Doobybrain (oh, the good 'ol days!) and every year I get so wrapped up in looking at all the insane photos from that day in history. I wasn't living in Los Angeles at the time of the Northridge earthquake nor was I at an age where this event would have taken a hold of my attention (even on TV), so what I know about it was learnt entirely in retrospect. The Northridge earthquake was such an incredible show of force by nature that ever since then, Angelinos have been anticipating the next "big one" in reference to this particular event.
The Northridge earthquake killed 57 and hurt thousands more. Buildings collapsed, freeways buckled and fell, fires raged on, and as expected, building codes were revamped (those "soft-story" houses were made illegal to build in Los Angeles).
If you want to see more photos from that day and days immediately following the January 17, 1994 event, the Los Angeles Times has a great gallery and so does The Atlantic.
Here is 3 hours worth of footage from various news channels about the Northridge earthquake.