In an interview with the '' Los Angeles Times '' shortly after the earthquake , Dr. Beno Gutenberg , a geophysicist and professor at the Caltech Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena , prematurely reported that the source of the quake was the San Jacinto Fault and compared the earthquake to the 1933 Long Beach earthquake saying " The energy of the Imperial Vally shock was less , and it should have done less damage , than the one of 1933 , even had it occurred in an area of greater population . " The Imperial Fault had not been previously differentiated from the other faults in the area by geologists until after the earthquake occurred
1933 Long Beach earthquake
1933 Long Beach earthquake
1940 El Centro earthquake