Courtesy SCVHistory.com

Saturday marks the 21st anniversary of the Jan. 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake that rocked the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys and changed countless lives forever.

The 6.7 magnitude quake, which began at 4:31 a.m. and lasted a little more than 30 seconds, severed gas lines, toppled homes and apartments, destroyed shops and businesses and collapsed several major freeways throughout the Southern California region.

Thousands were left homeless and affected cities went days without water, power or basic transportation.

At the time, the city of Santa Clarita was home to approximately 150,000 people.

KHTS AM-1220, which was KBET at the time, quickly became the official disaster radio station for the Santa Clarita Valley, delivering vital information to residents around the clock.

By 5:35 a.m., an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was opened at city hall, which was determined to be damaged but habitable.

Most of the city was without power and there were fires and gas leaks scattered throughout the community.

Related: The Jan. 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake Remembered By Santa Clarita

Hundreds of residents afraid to enter their homes and cut off from travel due to the collapse of Interstate 5 and Highway 14– virtually the only north and south links to the Santa Clarita Valley –poured into public parks.

By daybreak, all critical facilities had been inspected and it was determined there were no building collapses. Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital was without water, but otherwise operational.

As major aftershocks occurred throughout the day, engineers and building inspectors reexamined the city hall structure, and the decision was made to move the EOC out of the building and into the adjacent parking lot.

By nightfall, more than 1,000 Santa Clarita residents were in the care of the American Red Cross and city officials.

By midnight on Jan. 17, only 19 hours from the time of the initial quake, power was restored to all but 1,400 homes in the community by Southern California Edison, Los Angeles County Fire and Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials.

The first delivery of bottled water from the outside arrived in Santa Clarita the following day, Jan. 18, and before the emergency was over, approximately 1.7 million gallons were distributed by city officials.

City hall was eventually determined to have sustained major damage, with the repair cost in excess of $4.5 million.

About 90,000 tons of debris were removed from Santa Clarita’s streets in the aftermath of the quake, 99 percent of which was recycled.

The EOC and city operations continued to function out of tents and trailers in the city hall parking lot until Feb. 1, 1994, when city staff moved to a temporary facility.

Melissa Lampert contributed to this article.