The 7:42 a.m. shock was the strongest in the Los Angeles area since the 1971 San Fernando earthquake and was felt as far as San Diego and San Luis Obispo , California and Las Vegas , Nevada . Communication systems and local media were temporarily impaired and power was cut , leaving numerous early morning workers stranded in disabled elevators . Other minor disruptions included a number of water and gas main breaks , shattered windows and some ceiling collapses . Like the San Fernando earthquake , transportation systems were again affected , but this time it was only the Santa Ana Freeway and San Gabriel River Freeways that were closed near Santa Fe Springs after pieces of concrete were dislodged and cracks were observed in the roadway . Los Angeles County USC Medical Center took a large number of the injured , whose injuries were summarized by an emergency room spokesman as very bad to minor , and three people died as a direct result
1971 San Fernando earthquake
1971 San Fernando earthquake
1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake