Loma Prieta Earthquake (San Jose, Berkeley, Belmont: homes, living in, floor)

[LoneStarJerry]

Was anyone actually at Candlestick Park when this earthquake struck back in 1989? I was living in Southern California back then as I still do, so I only saw what was covered on television.

What's ironic about the World Series when it comes to this quake is a columnist from the San Jose Mercury News made a comment before the series that "God only knows if they'll even get all the games in. An earthquake could rip through the Bay Area before they sing the anthem for Game 3", and of course Game 3 is when the quake struck.

[gizmo980]

I wasn't at the ballpark, but know people who were... it was actually 3 days before my 13th birthday, and I was at an ice skating rink (practicing) in Belmont. My mother had just gone to get us dinner, my sister was on the ice, and I was doing homework in the lobby. It started to shake, and the woman sitting with me pulled me under the table - where I crouched in AWE for the duration of the quake. My mother came back a few minutes later with our food, and was like "what's going on??" Apparently her old minivan was so top-heavy, she just thought it was the wind. We did suffer damage at our house, including a fallen chimney & burst pipes, but that's not bad considering it was a 1901 Victorian that survived the '06 quake too. Anyway, that's my memory of the Loma Prieta... would like to hear from somebody who was at the ballpark!

[twins4lynn]

I was driving in Millbrae, up Murchison, and my tires began making this clunk-clunk-clunk sound and the radio went out for a second. I initially thought I had a flat tire or some other major car problem. Then I saw people coming out of their homes and knew all was well with my car . I never felt any shaking or anything that would make me think we were having an earthquake.

Got home a few minutes later and found one lamp on the floor (the kitten may have knocked it down), my older cat under the bed blankets hiding, and water on the bathroom floor that splashed out of the toilet.

My friends still at work (near pier 90, SF) said it was terrible. They really felt it there. That's not too far from Candlestick.

[sobo16]

Originally Posted by j760

Was anyone actually at Candlestick Park when this earthquake struck back in 1989? I was living in Southern California back then as I still do, so I only saw what was covered on television.

What's ironic about the World Series when it comes to this quake is a columnist from the San Jose Mercury News made a comment before the series that "God only knows if they'll even get all the games in. An earthquake could rip through the Bay Area before they sing the anthem for Game 3", and of course Game 3 is when the quake struck.

That is true. The columnist is Kevin Cowherd who now writes for The Baltimore Sun.

Also, YouTube has some video clips from the earthquake.

[tangodoodles]

My pregnant cousin, her husband, and their two kids (both under 10) were there. They were really freaked out, but it was mainly my cousin because she was pregnant and her son. He didn't want to get in the car and leave because he was so freaked out. I wasn't born until after it happened but they told me about it last year when I went to watch my cousin's football game at Berkeley. I think they brought it up because I said that I wouldn't want to be in the stadium if an earthquake were to occur. I think there were some more details but I can't remember them. They said that the death toll would have been higher if the game hadn't been on. There would have been more people in traffic or something and more people on the road that collapsed.

[LoneStarJerry]

Thanks for sharing your stories everyone.

I'll never forget tuning into that ballgame and finding out what happened.