Were you around for the big loma prieta earthquake in '89, and do you worry about the next "big one"? (San Jose: townhouse, buying)

[ecsdude]

I was around in '89 and remember clearly where I was at the time of the quake, as I'm sure many of you who were around at the time do, too. I was on an AC Transit bus that was stationary at a bus stop at the BART station and it felt like something had hit the bus and caused it to shake a bit. That's about the extent of it for me. My mother was at our house in San Pablo and said she felt the ground rolling beneath her.


I remember heading to Hilltop Mall and seeing on TV what actually happened.. looking in awe as I saw the collapsed portion of the bridge and all of the other damage the quake had caused.


Still, my personal experience with it was rather mild, so the fear wasn't there..


But I have worried ever since about when the next big one will come, especially in a place so population dense as the Bay Area with it's particular geographical features. I've felt small earthquakes since then and those were pretty scary already.. it leaves you kind of jittery and on alert for some days after.


Do you guys ever worry about the next big one? Enough so that it's one of the primary incentives for you to move elsewhere?

[Ceece]

Yeah. It was during my after work commute. My carpool from SF to San Leandro was already home and we missed most of the shaking since the car was in motion. We pulled over for a few minutes because we started bouncing and everyone else was pulling over too, that's how we found out about it. I had coworkers in SF who were effected by it, some living around the Marina District and friends who commuted via the bridge and were stuck behind the collapse. I worry WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT but to be honest I rarely do. I know it might be horrible but I haven't thought of moving because of it.

[marcopolo666]

1) Were you around for the big loma prieta earthquake in '89?
Yes.

2) do you worry about the next "big one"?
No.

[peacebwithyou]

Originally Posted by marcopolo666

1) Were you around for the big loma prieta earthquake in '89?
Yes.

2) do you worry about the next "big one"?
No.

1.yes

2. no, I left the state

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I was here for it.

My only worries about the next major event are how other people might behave and how the media (especially the non local media) will hype and milk it to death.

[eureka1]

I was at a sheep auction in Donegal. People would ask where we were from and we'd answer "San Francisco". Then they'd start talking in their strong Irish accents about San Francisco and earthquakes. I thought it was charming that they were still thinking about the '06 quake when eventually another tourist was contacted by a relative and we realized that this was a NEW quake they were talking about;. There was only one pub with a TV so we gathered there for awhile but basically, we missed the whole thing.

Off-topic; While we were watching the auction I asked someone how they transported the sheep to home since I didn't see any wagons. Oh, in their cars, I was told. I didn't quite believe it. Just then a Toyota went by with a sheep in the back seat.

[clongirl]

Yup. I was a student at SFSU and living in the Richmond District. I was just leaving campus when it hit and Stonestown Galleria was being evacuated.

I don't really worry about the next one though.

[Corvette Ministries]

I was at Sears in San Jose and all the ceiling tiles were raining down. Customers and store personnel were huddled under counters. I went to the parking lot and witnessed the macadam rolling like ocean waves and the lamp posts were swaying.

I remember trying to watch TV at home between power outages and catching glimpses of the fallen bridge.

We moved to NC ten years later and I still remember anxiety attacks when heavy equipment was rolled down the hallway at work. It's hard to get over that feeling.

[ATX Wahine]

I was eight months pregnant with my daughter on the third floor of my townhouse in the East Bay. When it began I ran to the top of the stairs and as I began running downstairs, the joists popped out of the stairwell wall. I flew down those stairs! My dishes all flew out of the cabinet and broke. All I could hear was breaking glass. My husband was working in Oakland and when I first heard about the Cypress structure, I began panicking terribly because he was still not home from work. I sat outside in the grass waiting, waiting, waiting. He came walking up around 7:30 WITH HIS FISHING POLE. He'd finished up early that day and had come home, grabbed his pole and went fishing. He felt the quake but had NO idea it was so big so he just kept fishing. LOL. We later found out that a high school friend of mine was in a truck that was crushed but survived with two broken legs.

I didn't sleep the rest of my pregnancy and was stressed out for about 3-4 months afterward. It really took a toll on me. When I left the Bay Area for Austin Texas my first thought was "no more worry about earthquakes ever again".

[shooting4life]

I don't worry about the next earth quake. I do worry about the riots/looting that will follow when people run out of food and water in 2 days.

It is scary how ill prepared so many are. Just think how it is back east when they have a storm. People there get days of warning and people still are standing in line two days later trying to get a gallon of gas or case of water. Imagine what it would be like here with no warning. Most grocery stores have enough food for 3 days without being resuplied under normal buying conditions.