Big quake felt in. Tucson. derails train, cuts, powerJOSHUA TREE, Calif. (AP) - A 7.0-magnitude earthquake in the Mojave Desert shook millions awake in three Western states including Arizona early yesterday, derailing an Amtrak train and knocking out power to thousands, but causing no serious damage or injuries.
The quake jolted gamblers out of bed in Las Vegas and shook residents as far away as Tucson and Tijuana, Mexico. Up to 90,000 utility customers lost power, mobile homes were knocked off pilings in the desert community of Ludlow
and a highway bridge was cracked.
With only a handful of injuries and no deaths, Californians credited location and luck for eluding catastrophe in the most powerful quake to hit the state since 1992.
"Thank God it took place in a remote area where there appears to be no tremendous damage or personal injuries," said Mayor Richard Riordan in Los Angeles, where the 6.7-magnitude Northridge quake killed 72 people and caused $25 billion in damage in 1994.
See QUAKE, Page 17A