Timeline of Events: The 1994 Northridge Earthquake

The first shaking from the 6.7-magnitude Northridge Earthquake began at 4:31 a.m. on Monday, January 17, 1994. From its epicenter in the west San Fernando Valley, the earthquake produced 10 to 20 seconds of shaking that rattled a widespread part of Southern California.

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The devastation was due largely to its location in one of the United States' most densely built-up metropolises. Fifty-seven people died. More than 9,000 people were injured and 20,000 were displaced in a natural disaster that caused an estimated $20 billion in damage. The destruction included collapsed buildings and freeway overpasses, snapped water and gas lines, rampant fires and landslides.

The timeline above provides a glimpse of how events unfolded in the hours, days and months after the quake.

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Click here for USGS' earthquake handbook "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country."

[LA GALLERY] Northridge Earthquake: The First Day in Photos

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FILE - In this Jan. 17, 1994 file photo, Interstate 10, the Santa Monica Freeway, split and collapsed over La Cienega Boulevard following the Northridge quake in the predawn hours in Los Angeles. Twenty-five years ago this week, a violent, pre-dawn earthquake shook Los Angeles from its sleep, and sunrise revealed widespread devastation, with dozens killed and $25 billion in damage. (AP Photo/Eric Draper, File)

Northridge Earthquake: Photos From the Days Following the Shaking

Soldier from the National Guard march in the streets of Northridge, California, on January 18, 1994, as they deploy to guard the areas hit by Northridge earthquake. The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California. (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

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AFP/Getty Images

Soldier from the National Guard march in the streets of Northridge, California, on January 18, 1994, as they deploy to guard the areas hit by Northridge earthquake. The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California. (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)