The 6.7 Northridge Earthquake, followed by a 6.0 aftershock, less than a minute later, wasn't the biggest earthquake to hit Southern California, but it was one of the worst, because the epicenter was directly under a populated area. It did over $20 billion in damage and, more importantly, at least 60 people lost their lives—16 of them in one building. The official death toll stands at 61, with one study, by USC and the USGS, reaching 72. But Nobody really knows for sure. What we do know is that there were over 8,700 people injured, 1,600 of them hospitalized.  More would have died in the aftershocks and fires caused by broken gas mains, if not for neighbors helping neighbors, and the incredible work done by police fire and rescue workers.NBCLA First Reports Retrospective Full ShowNBCLA Northridge Earthquake Day Two Full ShowNorthridge Earthquake Raw Footage, USGS No sound but some things you just have to see to believeLAist 25th Anniversary Article Has pictures you can’t find anywhere elseLearning From Earthquakes Daniel Pendrick’s full article, on the Savage earth blog. Includes links to more information.Seismology: The Northridge Earthquake and its Aftershocks Excellent article from the Southern California Earthquake Center, by Erik Hauksson and Lucy Jones