Kats’ Korner: The Earthquake of 1989

With the recent earthquake in the bay area of California, and a strong aftershock, I was reminded of an earthquake 25 years ago in November in the same area. I was living there and can’t recall a more terrifying experience.

I had experienced several small tremors in the two years I had lived there. I was in a mini mart during one such tremor. The ground didn’t shake much, but items fell off of the store’s shelves.

On another occasion, I was lying on the couch when the room seemed to spin around. I wasn’t sure what had happened, or if I was delusional. I asked a neighbor and was informed it was a small tremor. It seemed odd to me as there wasn’t any shaking, but I was by far no expert on earthquakes.

With each tremor, I realized something much worse could, and more than likely, would happen.

October 17, 1989 my realization came true.

I was a dispatcher at the Solano County Sheriff’s Office. Whitney was 5 months old and Justin was 8 years old.

I was to work that day. I was never so glad to have strep throat! There was a mini mart right on our block, which didn’t require crossing streets to reach. Justin had gone there to buy me some soup. He was just getting back when the earthquake hit.

I was lying on the couch watching television when it went to an all white screen. I thought somebody had hit the pole where the cable was hooked up down the street. For some reason, people always drove into that pole, taking the cable out.

I realized very quickly that wasn’t the cause. The ground began to shake very hard. I became very scared very fast! The apartment we lived in was shaking from side to side. At least, that is what I remember.

I tried to get to the back door to find Justin, but I couldn’t. I felt so helpless. All of the precautions I had been told to take during an earthquake went right out of my mind.

I just wanted to get to my kids.

Whitney was sleeping in her crib upstairs. I panicked because her crib wasn’t far from a window. I tried to get up the stairs and couldn’t. They were moving back and forth. I wouldn’t have been able to walk up them even if I could have gotten on one step.

So, unable to reach my kids, I had no choice but to wait it out. Later, they reported that in “only” lasted 15 seconds. It felt like hours to me.

When it was over, I ran to the back door to find Justin standing there in shock.
But, being an 8 year old, the first words out of his mouth were “that was cool, the ground went up and down.” Oh, to be an 8 year old.

He came inside while I went upstairs to Whitney. She was still asleep. The window didn’t break, which was a huge relief!

Nothing was broken in our apartment. Actually, nothing even fell off the walls! I don’t know how that happened.

The earthquake occurred during the World Series. San Francisco and Oakland were playing. The game was stopped and people were fleeing. A huge crack in the stadium was a result of the earthquake.

My mom loves baseball and was watching the game when the earthquake hit. It was several hours before we had telephone service and I could call home. I was so shaken, I wanted to pack up and go home.

Once we could watch television, the damage the San Francisco area received was shocking. I felt bad for being so scared when they had it so much worse. The Bay Bridge suffered extensive damage and couldn’t be driven on for a long time, causing commuter problems. An overpass collapsed killing some people. It would have been worse had it been rush hour, but a loss of life, no matter the situation, is tragic.

Streets and driveways buckled, there were fires all over the area. I could go on and on, but I think you have the picture.

I will never forget Justin watching the aftermath of the earthquake, his eyes huge in disbelief. He then told me he didn’t think it was cool anymore.

All I knew at the end of the day was I had much to be thankful for.

I also wanted to go home! I am glad to be home and hope to never experience such a feeling of helplessness again!