For the record: 9:00 AM, Feb. 09, 2021The Loma Prieta earthquake was in 1989, not 1984. Fifty years ago this morning, millions of people were violently jolted awake just after 6 a.m. For 12 savage seconds, the ground shook. Overpass bridges tumbled into freeway lanes. Hospitals crumbled. The San Gabriel Mountains lurched several feet south. It was a shock and terror so immense that not all victims were felled by physical destruction — eight of the 64 deaths attributed to Sylmar earthquake were caused by heart attacks. Parts of the northeast San Fernando Valley resembled a war zone. Advertisement The first quake was over before the clock hit 6:01 on Feb. 9, 1971, though the aftershocks would continue for years to come.