Most of the buildings at the Los Angeles County – owned , 880-bed hospital complex had been built before the adoption of new construction techniques that had been put in place after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake . The group of one-story structures 300 feet west of the new facility , and some other buildings , were not damaged . The damaged buildings variously were wood-frame and masonry structures . The five-story , reinforced-concrete Medical Treatment and Care Building was one of three new additions to the complex ( all three of which sustained damage ) , was assembled with earthquake-resistant construction techniques , and was completed in December , 1970 . The hospital was staffed by 98 employees and had 606 patients at the time of the earthquake ; all three deaths that occurred at the Olive View complex were in this building . Two were due to power failure of life-support systems and one , that of an employee who was struck by part of the collapsing building as he or she tried to exit the building , was a direct result of the destruction
1933 Long Beach earthquake
1933 Long Beach earthquake
1971 San Fernando earthquake