EARTHQUAKE: DISASTER BEFORE DAWN : 6.6 in the Southland

The earthquake centered in the San Fernando Valley’s Northridge caused death and destruction across Southern California. In addition to disrupting local freeways, the quake collapsed buildings and is being blamed for at least 31 deaths. A survey of the damage:

FREEWAY COLLAPSE

1) Golden State Freeway (I-5): Northbound lanes closed from Roxford Street in Sylmar to Lyons Avenue; collapsed bridge.

2) Santa Monica Freeway (I-10): Eastbound lanes closed from Centinela Avenue to Washington Boulevard; collapsed bridge.

3) Antelope Valley Freeway (14): Southbound lanes closed at San Fernando Road; structural damage.

4) San Diego Freeway (I-405): Northbound and southbound lanes closed at Rinaldi Street; buckled freeway. All northbound lanes connecting to westbound Simi Valley Freeway (118); structure damage. Tunnel to northbound Golden State Freeway; severe cracking.

5) Ventura Freeway (101): Van Nuys off-ramp closed; building fell on freeway off-ramp.

6) Simi Valley Freeway (118): Eastbound connector to eastbound Foothill Freeway (210); structural damage. All eastbound lanes at Tampa Avenue; structural damage.

7) Foothill Freeway (I-210): All eastbound lanes closed; structural damage. All lanes of westbound connector to westbound 118; structural damage. Westbound connector to northbound I-5; structural damage.

8) Telegraph Road (126): All eastbound and westbound lanes closed between Fillmore and I-5; buckled pavement.

9) Ventura Freeway (135): Eastbound transition to the Glendale Freeway (2) closed.

10) Hollywood Freeway (170): Southbound transition to eastbound Ventura Freeway (134) closed.

11) Angeles Crest Highway: Completely closed.

NOT SHOWN ON MAP:

California Route 23, from Moorpark to Fillmore closed in both directions.

Century Freeway (105), closed at the Crenshaw Boulevard overcrossing.

Las Virgenes Road closed from Piuma Road to Pacific Coast Highway and in either direction from the 101; landslides.

BUILDING COLLAPSE

12) Northridge: Northridge Meadows Apartment collapsed. Heavy damage was reported at Cal State Northridge. Bullock’s store and parking structure next to Robinsons-May collapsed at the Northridge Fashion Center.

13) Pasadena: Structures in a multi-building apartment complex partially collapsed and declared unsafe; 130 residents evacuated, no deaths reported.

14) Studio City: Buildings suffered major damage. The Cranberry House, 12318 Ventura Blvd., all front windows of large antique market blown out.

15) Sherman Oaks: The Sherman Oaks Antique Mall, 14304 Ventura Blvd., front windows knocked out. Cafe Cordial/Sherman Oaks Camera, 14011 Ventura Blvd. Residents in the following apartment were evacuated: 4232 and 4334 Matilija Ave., 4474 and 4500 Woodman Ave., 4459 Ventura Canyon Ave.

16) Hollywood Boulevard: Glass and debris cover the Walk of Stars

TRAIN DERAILMENT

17) Southern Pacific tracks between Chatsworth and Northridge shift 10 inches, derailing half of a 64-car train. One sulfuric acid leak quickly sealed. All rail lines within a 100-mile radius of epicenter to be inspected.

GAS LINE EXPLOSIONS

18) Sylmar: Cars parked on street and mobile homes destroyed; no deaths.

19) Granada Hills: Five homes on Balboa Avenue destroyed; no deaths.

LANDSLIDES

20) Malibu: West Channel Road restaurants and homes damaged; no deaths.

21) Santa Susana Canyon: Sliding rocks create a wall of sand in the canyon.

RESERVOIRS

22) Pacoima Reservoir: Main source of water for the San Fernando Valley. Checking for damage.

23) Upper Van Norman Dam: Quake caused reported 30-foot waves that washed over sides of dam. After inspection no damage was found.

POWER OUTAGES

Damaged power stations from Sylmar to Ventura and downed power lines left more than 1.3 million Southern Californians, including much of the city of Los Angeles, without electricity Monday. Most outages occurred shortly after the 4:31 a.m. earthquake and power to some areas was not expected to be restored until today at the earliest. Location: Customers affected Los Angeles: 740,000 Ventura: 185,000 Thousand Oaks: 171,000 Valencia: 92,000 Santa Barbara: 87,000

Some of the Fatalities

* 2 killed in hillside home collapse in Sherman Oaks.

* 14 dead in Northridge apartment complex collapse.

* LAPD motorcycle officer killed in collapse of freeway connector.

* Rancho Cucamonga woman dead with broken neck after hitting head on baby crib.

* 1 person dead in fall from Downtown sixth-floor hotel window.

* 5 dead of heart attacks,

* 1 man dead of apparent head injuries from objects falling inside his Chatsworth trailer home.

* 2 dead on arrival at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital; no details available.

Worker Trapped Eight Hours

A maintenance worker was trapped for eight hours under eight feet of concrete at Northridge Fashion Center. The southwest parking structure collapsed as the man was cleaning the lot. He suffered crushed legs and a partially dislocated spine. How he was freed:

Firefighters tried to open up enough space in the rubble to extricate him. They slipped deflated rubber air bags into crevices, pumping air into them to raise collapsed concrete slabs. They continued to open up space by alternately wedging in 4x4 wood poles and air bags until the man could be pulled out.

A Lifesaving Wedge

* Flat bag can be squeezed into a tight space.

* As air is added, bag expands, enlarging space around it.

* Handles are used to maneuver bag into position.

Northridge Apartment Collapse

Three stories became two when the Northridge Meadows Apartments collapsed. About 40 first-floor apartments were compacted, killing at least 14 people. One section remained intact, with visible vertical splits. To rescue trapped first-floor residents, firefighters used a “hydraulic cushion” of compressed air to lift a corner of the 160-unit stucco structure.

Sources: Caltrans, Los Angeles County Department of Water and Power, Southern California Edison

Researched by APRIL JACKSON, CAROLINE LEMKE, JULIE SHEER and STEPHANIE STASSEL / Los Angeles Times