Deborah Woehr

The Loma Prieta Earthquake was officially clocked at 7.1, lasting 15 seconds. Just 4 years prior, Mexico City had suffered a major quake that lasted 5 minutes (if I remember correctly) and caused major damage. Our earthquake destroyed one freeway (the Cypress Structure) and several buildings in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Los Gatos.

We had aftershocks for months afterwards. Every time one would hit, my mother-in-law would go crazy while the rest of us would just sit there and wait. The shocks never got bigger than a 5, but they rattled our nerves nonetheless.

A few years later, I’d met a couple of people who had just driven over the Cypress Structure before the earthquake hit. The boss I’d had at the time told me that one friend of hers had been jogging on a rickety wooden pier in Capitola (near Santa Cruz).

Another found herself trapped on BART beneath the Bay. Everybody on the train had to get out and hold hands and walk 1.5 miles to the other side, in the dark with the sounds of rats and leaking water. I have no desire to go on BART.

Eventually, everybody calmed down and went on with their lives. But every time a quake occurs, I find myself wondering if it’s going to be another big one. The media is always speculating on when the next big quake will hit.

But the thing about quakes is that they are so unpredictable. The only thing you can do is prepare and pray that you aren’t caught on or near a freeway. Still, I’d rather deal with them than the tornadoes or hurricanes.