On the recordJanuary 25, 1994
I would like to take a few moments to report on the tragic 6.6 earthquake that struck southern California just 8 days ago. The harsh reality is that more people were left homeless by the Northridge earthquake than by Hurricane Andrew, which until now was considered the worst natural disaster in modern American history. Now, those who lost homes, businesses, and loved ones turn to the Federal Government and to this Congress, as well as to the State, for assistance. This was a newly discovered fault which had a lateral thrust up on the two converging plates. This resulted in sudden and very strong vertical acceleration so that the damage that was done was considerably higher than other 6.6 earthquakes. The epicenter was in the heart of an urban area for the first time. The devastation is worse than the 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, or any earthquake in California, with the possible exception of the 1906 San Andreas temblor in San Francisco. In the last 8 days, there have been 2,500 aftershocks, each one rendering more damage, and some of them close to 5 on the Richter scale. Hospitals such as St. John's in Santa Monica have been condemned.
