October 17th 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake

 

 

San Francisco earthquake of 1989

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HOMESCIENCEEARTH SCIENCE, GEOLOGIC TIME & FOSSILSEARTH SCIENCES

In 1989 I was living in Family Student Housing

At UCSC and realized that within the month

the quake was going to hit. I was right

The epicenter was only 6 miles up into the

hills from UCSC then. I went to Hawaii

and saw it live on CNN while it happened.

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https://www.britannica.com/event/San-Francisco-earthquake-of-1989

San Francisco earthquake of 1989

UNITED STATES

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• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Alternative Title: Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989

Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989A discussion of the lessons learned from the Loma Prieta (San Francisco–Oakland) earthquake of 1989.Displayed by permission of The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. (A Britannica Publishing Partner)See all videos for this article

San Francisco earthquake of 1989, also called Loma Prieta earthquake, major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S., on October 17, 1989, and caused 63 deaths, nearly 3,800 injuries, and an estimated $6 billion in property damage. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the area since the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

Bay Bridge after the San Francisco–Oakland earthquake of 1989Aerial view of the collapsed section of the Bay Bridge following the San Francisco–Oakland earthquake of 1989.C.E. Meyer/U.S. Geological Survey

1989 San Francisco–Oakland earthquakeMap of the 1989 San Francisco–Oakland earthquake (also known as the Loma Prieta earthquake). The quake struck with a moment magnitude of 6.9 on October 17, just before the start of the third game of the World Series, which was being held at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Sixty-three people died, and nearly 3,800 were injured. The baseball championship between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics was suspended for 10 days, because both cities suffered significant damage.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The earthquake was triggered by a slip along the San Andreas Fault. Its epicentre was in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, near Loma Prieta peak in the Santa Cruz mountains, northeast of Santa Cruz and approximately 60 miles (100 km) south of San Francisco. It struck just after 5:00 PM local time and lasted approximately 15 seconds, with a moment magnitude of 6.9. The most severe damage was suffered by San Francisco and Oakland, but communities throughout the region, including Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, also were affected. San Francisco’s Marina district was particularly hard hit because it had been built on filled land (comprising loose, sandy soil), and the unreinforced masonry buildings in Santa Cruz (many of which were 50 to 100 years old) failed completely.

San Francisco-Oakland earthquake of 1989Damaged buildings in Santa Cruz, California, following the San Francisco-Oakland earthquake of 1989.C.E. Meyer/U.S. Geological Survey

The earthquake significantly damaged the transportation system of the Bay Area. The collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct (Nimitz Freeway) caused most of the earthquake-related deaths. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge was also damaged when a span of the top deck collapsed. In the aftermath, all bridges in the area underwent seismic retrofitting to make them more resistant to earthquakes.

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Remarkably, the earthquake struck just before the start of the third game of the 1989 World Series, which was to be played in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park between the two Bay Area baseball teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. The disaster’s occurrence during a major live television broadcast meant that news of the earthquake, as well as aerial views provided by the Goodyear blimp, reached a large audience. The baseball championship, which was suspended for 10 days, would come to be known as the “Earthquake Series.”

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor, Reference Content.

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