hurtled out of the night.

They were fast asleep as the violent Los Angeles earthquake struck -- and catapulted them from their beds.

Amid scenes of turmoil, they feared for their lives.

Some even thought their homes had been bombed as giant cracks appeared in the walls.

"My house rocked, rolled, and shook. I was so frightened I immediately had this terrible pain in my chest,'' exclaimed Mrs. Emelita Johnson.

She added: "I ran to my son, and I could see his heart beating in his pyjamas.'' Her voice trembling, Mrs. Chyrel Waldron recalled: "I woke up screaming. The tremor scared the socks off me, and my first thought was for my son.'' One Bermuda resident Mrs. Priscilla Brown said: "The shaking seemed to last an eternity.

"I just panicked. Furniture was flying everywhere and pictures were falling off the wall.

"I sat in my bed, and prayed. I knew I should find a safe corner of the room, but I was too terrified to move. I thought I was going to die.'' A group of businessmen from insurers A.C.E were also ensnared in the horror.

The earth began shaking as they slept in their hotel rooms.

Said the firm's chairman Mr. Walter Scott: "It was pretty scary. There were explosions everywhere.

"I could see flashes from my hotel window. I knew they must be from the electric substations.'' Some people spoke to The Royal Gazette while they were being hit by after shocks.

Their voices quaked as they recalled the moments the earth's predawn rupture cut a path of destruction across the northwestern edge of Los Angeles.

It shattered their lives, and left them emotionally scarred.

"I really believed a bomb had gone off. It was terrible,'' said one.

But all believed they had been lucky -- escaping the horror inflicted on hundreds of others.

Tales of destruction filtered through the radio sets they huddled around.

For many it was their only means of communication, leaving relatives frantic with worry.

Authorities said much of the city was without power and telephone lines were cut in many areas.

The quake struck before dawn on Monday, killing at least 24 people, sparking more than 100 fires, buckling highways, demolishing houses and blacking out a large part of the city.

It registered 6.6 on the Richter scale and lasted almost a minute.

But for the Bermuda residents caught up in the ordeal, it lasted an eternity.

So powerful was it, people living 300 miles away in Las Vegas were affected.

The quake was centred in the San Fernando Valley.

Houses were blown apart in gas explosions, and cars hurled off freeways.

Five people died in one of the fires the quake touched off and hundreds were injured -- many from heart attacks.

They were killed in a blazing apartment house filled with students attending the California State University at Northridge.

In addition, four died of heart attacks and a motorcycle police officer was killed when he was thrown from a freeway, officials said.

They added the quake was felt by more than three million people in the worst earthquake to hit southern California in more than two decades.

Scores of walking wounded poured into local hospitals and first-aid centres.

Highways -- the life blood of this sprawling city -- caved in as a damage bill running into millions of dollars was caused.

And hard-pressed firemen battled more than 100 blazes set off by explosions when the quake ripped apart gas lines. Their efforts were hampered by burst water mains.

Mayor Richard Riordan and Governor Pete Wilson declared states of emergency.

US President Bill Clinton said he would declare the region a "disaster area'' later in the day so that federal aid could be rushed to the scene.

For Bermuda's Shadow Youth Minister Dr. Ewart Brown the earthquake's aftermath spurred him into some frantic telephone calls.

His sister Mrs. Emelita Johnson, and wife, Priscilla, live in California.

Mrs. Johnson told The Royal Gazette : "It has been horrible and absolutely devastating.

"The freeway is five minutes from us, and has been buckled. There is an apartment nearby which has also been wrecked.

"The third floor has fallen on to the first, and they have been taking out bodies.'' She told how fires lit up the night sky after the quake struck, and the air filled with smoke.

"I heard a series of explosions,'' she recalled.

There was also the acrid smell of gas as scores of lines were ruptured.

Mrs. Johnson, who lives just 15 minutes from the quake's epicentre, said she was jolted out of bed when the shaking started at about 4.30 a.m.

Electricity supplies were cut, drawers opened and shut, china shattered, and cracks appeared in the walls.

Fortunately the property's foundations appeared undamaged.

Mrs. Johnson raced to her 13-year-old son, Kyle, who was sheltering under the sheets.

"He panicked. I could see his heart beating in his pyjamas.'' Mrs. Johnson said she, her husband, Gary, and Kyle, huddled in a corner of the room, trying to make themselves comfortable with pillows.

"There were sirens sounding everywhere, and it was really eerie. It was a public holiday, and most people would have been at home anyway.'' Mrs. Johnson said her home was covered in "small stress fractures'', and the driveway resembled a "jigsaw''.

Mrs. Priscilla Brown, who lives about 10 minutes from Los Angeles international airport, believed she was going to die as the earth shook.

"The whole house started to shake and lamps broke. I've heard the earthquake lasted 45 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity.'' Mrs. Brown said her ordeal was heightened because she was alone.

"I was uninjured, but emotionally shaken -- as well as physically shaken.

"My husband was on the phone right away, and I was able to tell him everything is fine.'' Mrs. Brown said she had experienced up to 10 after shocks.

Mrs. Waldron, who lives in a mobile home in a large trailer park at Simi Valley, remembered all hell breaking loose as she was thrown from her bed at about 4.15 a.m..

"I was fast asleep, and woke up screaming. Everything was scattered about, and food was flying everywhere.

"A television was on its side, mirrors were breaking, and my bedroom was a mess.'' Mrs. Waldron was also hit by the smell of gas.

Her first thought was to get her seven-year-old son Derrick out of his bedroom.

In the immediate aftermath, they cowered underneath a table.

With power supplies severed, flashlights were used as people stumbled about in the pitch black.

"Everybody in the area was pulling together and making sure people were alright.

"People were going outside and getting into their cars. They were also setting up little stoves, and stocking up with canned food.'' Mrs. Waldron said all the 270 odd homes in the park were damaged -- 80 percent were now uninhabitable.

"Some of them are down on the ground. Fortunately my home is not too bad.'' Mrs. Waldron was hopeful she could spend last night at her home.

Her friend Mrs. Ruth Deal, who also lives on the park, said the quake appeared to last five minutes.

Chaos erupted as the quake struck, and her children Rebecca, 10, and seven-year-old Rochelle had a lucky escape.

A television, dresser, and stereo fell on their beds, but narrowly missed them.

Scenes of grief were repeated over and over in damaged neighbourhoods.

In Sylmar residents of a mobile-home park huddled together, some sobbing and embracing each other, as they watched their trailer homes go up in flames.

At least 30 trailer homes were destroyed as flames raced from one to another.

"The fire department couldn't do anything at all to stop it. Thank God they saved mine,'' said resident Chuck Surrel.

Four Bermuda businessmen from Pembroke-based insurers A.C.E were also caught up in the ordeal.

They were chairman Mr. Walter Scott, executive vice president Mr. Bill Loschert, Mr. Brad Rich, and Bermudian Mr. Chris Marshall.

The group were on a business trip and in Beverly Hills' Four Seasons Hotels when the drama erupted.

Said Mr. Scott: "I was completely asleep, but as soon as I awoke I knew what was happening.

"The room was rocking and rolling, and the crockery lamps came off their nightstands.

"There was a mini bar in the room, and I could see everything falling out of it.

"There was a lot of breakage of glass, and cracks appeared in the walls, but there was not a tremendous amount of structural damage.

"It is a relatively new structure and took the shakes pretty well. I tried getting out of bed but wasn't capable of it.

"It wasn't possible to stand initially. I later managed to get to the window and could see flashes along the horizon.

"I knew they must be coming from the electricity substations.'' Mr. Scott spotted a Police helicopter scouring the area, checking on the damage.