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by A.F. Shakal, M.J. Huang,
C.E. Ventura, D.L. Parke,
T.Q. Cao, R.W. Sherburne,
and R. Blazquez
Click on the link below for the full text:
Introduction
Strong-motion records were recovered from 100 stations of the California Strong
Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) after the earthquake of October 1, 1987
which occurred north of Whittier, California, approximately 15 km east of downtown
Los Angeles. Records were recovered from 63 CSMIP ground-response stations and
38 extensively-instrumented structures. These structures include 27 buildings,
eight dams, a suspension bridge, an airport control tower and a power plant. This
report includes all CSMIP data from the Whittier earthquake and supersedes the
brief compilation distributed immediately after the earthquake (CDMG, 1987). In
addition to the records recovered by CSMIP, records were also recovered by the U.S.
Geological Survey, the University of Southern California, and other agencies. In
total this set of data will be the largest ever recorded from an earthquake,
exceeding that recovered in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake.
The estimated earthquake location and magnitude are (Caltech):
Epicenter: 34.058N, 118.075W. Depth: 9 km.
Origin Time: 14:42:20 GMT (07:42:20 PDT), 1 October 1987M
Magnitude: 6.1 ML
Damage was moderate over a broad area and extensive in certain localized areas such
as downtown Whittier. Damage studies by other organizations are still underway at
this time. A preliminary report completed by the engineering firm EQE, Inc. (EQE,
1987) provides a good, early overview of damage to various types of construction in
the Los Angeles area. A preliminary report by Burdick and others (1987) reviewed
damage to power generating facilities. EQE estimates that the total damage will
exceed $100 million.
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