SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Destruction plagued Los Angeles County 30 years ago Wednesday.
Apartment complexes collapsed, freeways were destroyed and fires sparked throughout the area as a result of the Northridge earthquake.
"It was a holiday early morning. I was sound asleep. But boy, the initial shock wave hit the house like that (punches hand). I sat up instantly. It was a huge jolt," said Dr. Patt Abbott, a geologist.
Dr. Abbott felt the quake about 150 miles away from the epicenter in San Diego.
"That's quite a long time. In the last 30 years, the population of the state's grown about 30 percent. It's not the way it was in people's memories the way it was back in 1989, 1994-everybody was aware of earthquakes because everyone in California had felt them," said Dr. Abbott.
The latest models from USGS show that in the next century, the entire state could feel one.
San Diego is surrounded by fault lines.
"On the east side of the Salton Sea is the San Andres fault… towards San Diego we cross the San Ysidro fault, which is a big one, Elsinore fault which is a big one. We have the Rose Canyon one that runs right through town, basically down the I-5 and then we go on shore we have more faults out there," said Dr. Abbott.
While technology has improved over the past few decades, Abbott said scientists still cannot predict an earthquake.
Instead, they have historical records and tools like Shake Alert.
"You can put this app on your phone. Seismic waves- the first ones travel the fastest, but they're not particularly dangerous. It's the second ones that really do a lot of damage. So you can get a warning from the fast-moving waves that an earthquake is on the way," said Dr. Abbott.
He said San Diegans should be concerned but not to the point they lose sleep over the possibility.
"San Diegans should be educated and mentally prepared," said Dr. Abbott.
