Fault-line ’quake injures 50

Press, 15 August 1978, Page 8

Fault-line ’quake injures 50

NZPA-Reuter Santa Barbara

At least 50 people were injured when an earthquake hit the Santa Barbara area, knocking people off their feet and triggering fires, gas leaks, rock slides, and a train derailment on Sunday, according to State authorities.

Property damage was described as” heavy, with the most serious reported in Goleta, just north of the city.

However, the tremor was felt in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Los Angeles, and Kern counties. Most of the injuries reported were minor. Scores

were treated for cuts and bruises at the Goleta Valley Community Hospital, said Dr Donald Rink. The tremor measured 5.1 on the Richter scale and was centered in the Santa Barbara Channel.

Officials kept a wary eye on the sea, fearing damage to several oil-drilling platforms in the channel. Santa Barbara, 144 km up the coast from Los Angeles, sits in the winding path of the San Andreas Fault, which runs from north of San Francisco to the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and on to the Mexican border.