Two of the strongest earthquakes ever to hit California struck the
desert area east of Los Angeles on June 28, 1992. Although the
state sits upon the immense San Andreas fault line, relatively few
major earthquakes have hit California in modern times. Two of the strongest, but not the deadliest, hit southern California on a single morning in the summer of 1992.

Just before 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning, a 7.2-magnitude quake
struck in Landers, 100 miles east of Los Angeles. Because the
Landers area is sparsely populated, damage was relatively minor
given the intensity of the jolt.

In Los Angeles, residents experienced rolling and shaking for
nearly a minute. The tremors were also felt in Arizona, Las Vegas
and as far away as Boise, Idaho.

Just over three hours later, a second 6.3-magnitude tremor hit in
Big Bear, not too far from the original epicenter. This quake caused
fires to break out and cost three people their lives. A chimney fell
on a 3-year-old child and two people suffered fatal heart attacks.

Between the two quakes, 400 people were injured and $92 million
in damages were suffered.