1906: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake strikes the San Andreas Fault, devastating San Francisco.
1933: The magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake occurs, prompting initial changes in building codes.
1964-1994: California experiences a period of significant seismic activity with 28 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
1971: The magnitude 6.6 Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley, causing 64 deaths.
1987: The magnitude 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake causes localized damage and eight deaths.
1989: The magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, centered in the Santa Cruz Mountains, leads to collapses in San Francisco and Oakland and results in 63 deaths.
1994: The magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake strikes the San Fernando Valley, resulting in about 60 deaths and becoming the costliest seismic disaster in U.S. history.
Post-1994: California enters an earthquake \"drought\" with no major earthquakes directly impacting its most populous cities.
2005: USGS and the Southern California Earthquake Center release a scenario predicting a potential magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Puente Hills thrust fault system that could have devastating consequences for Los Angeles and surrounding areas.
2010s-Present: Cities across California implement seismic safety measures, including retrofitting programs for vulnerable buildings, spurred by the events of the 80s and 90s.
2019: The Ridgecrest earthquake highlights the persistence of aftershocks and the challenges they pose for earthquake detection systems.
2024: Southern California experiences an unprecedented number of modest earthquakes, raising concerns about a potential larger event while highlighting advancements in earthquake detection and information dissemination.