Hi Dalewob, there is a useful discussion of the duration of this earthquake on the article talk page, including information from several sources. Consensus is that the 12 seconds refers to the period of strong ground motion shaking, which may differ from the period of perceptible shaking, but is the duration normally quoted for an earthquake. Mikenorton (talk) 10:42, 15 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]__DTELLIPSISBUTTON__{"threadItem":{"timestamp":"2016-05-15T10:42:00.000Z","author":"Mikenorton","type":"comment","level":1,"id":"c-Mikenorton-2016-05-15T10:42:00.000Z-1971_San_Fernando_earthquake_duration","replies":[]}}-->
In reply to the above
The 48 seconds was "very fast severe constant bouncing like movement more then it was shaking, knocking over walls etc etc...", not shaking as you described it. The other 12 seconds was a very very deep felt movement as described by my mother first...
You interview "anyone" that lived in Sylmar at the time and was awake or semi-awake during the earthquake they will all agree. I lived in Sylmar and was 13 years old at the time. If the edit is not done within the next 20 years or so, the accuracy of this earthquake will be lost forever. People that lived in Sylmar are the best source of information. The USGS has this but you doubt the shaking severity of the 48 seconds obviously.
- Hi Dalewob. If you'd like to preserve your experience of the event so that others may know about it, you could (and should) start a blog about it. It's very easy to do (similar to posting on Wikipedia). Dawnseeker2000 01:32, 11 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]__DTELLIPSISBUTTON__{"threadItem":{"timestamp":"2016-10-11T01:32:00.000Z","author":"Dawnseeker2000","type":"comment","level":1,"id":"c-Dawnseeker2000-2016-10-11T01:32:00.000Z-1971_San_Fernando_earthquake_duration","replies":[]}}-->