Post by Taxigirl on Nov 2, 2003 11:24:47 GMT
Surviving the San Francisco earthquake.
On 17 October 1989, San Francisco was rocked by a powerful earthquake.
It lasted just 15 seconds, but left 63 people dead - most of them killed when a two-tier freeway collapsed - and there was massive damage to buildings all over the city.
Kathi Real and seven-year-old Larissa Martinson were both in San Francisco when the earthquake struck. Here are their stories.
Larissa Martinson, USA
I was out roller-skating near the end of my block of our military base house in Alameda, California.
I was watching a family struggle to get a large table into their house when suddenly they dropped the table and the earth began to shake.
My childlike instincts told me they had caused the earth to shake. I held tightly to the stop sign. I heard screaming for children and parents gathering them in grateful happiness.
I still remember my dad not just yelling but screaming my name. I remember the sewage pipes bursting and the awful smell it created.
It was an incredible experience, but I wasn't scared at all.
Many cups in our house broke and pictures had fallen, but everyone was safe. We huddled in the back of our car listening to the radio and watching a portable TV.
They continued to play the scene where the car drove right into the hole the earthquake created in the bridge. This experience is forever in my memory.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathi Real, USA
I was working in downtown San Francisco, just off Union Square. We were getting ready to close up for the day when the quake hit.
At first, we kind of shrugged it off as "just another earthquake", but it continued longer than usual, and harder. Our 10-storey building shook but was OK as it was sandwiched between two taller buildings.
Our power went out and we left the building to try to get home. A co-worker and I were lucky enough to get a cab to my house.
I had just gotten engaged and my fiancé was supposed to be coming to meet me from the East Bay. The timing was such that I knew he could have been either on the Cypress Freeway or the Bay Bridge, both of which had collapsed areas.
There was no electricity, the phone lines were in chaos and I didn't hear from him until 0600 the next day. Twelve hours of fear, sitting by my phone, listening to my battery-powered radio, wondering where he was and if another big aftershock was going to hit.
After learning he was all right, my room-mate and I volunteered to help the people in the Marina area who were fighting the numerous fires, and searching for survivors in the many collapsed houses there.
Some of them we brought back to the house to offer a hot meal, shower, clean clothes, etc. Some we fed there, handed out cold drinks, and just listened.
It was heartbreaking to hear about those who didn't make it.
On 17 October 1989, San Francisco was rocked by a powerful earthquake.
It lasted just 15 seconds, but left 63 people dead - most of them killed when a two-tier freeway collapsed - and there was massive damage to buildings all over the city.
Kathi Real and seven-year-old Larissa Martinson were both in San Francisco when the earthquake struck. Here are their stories.
Larissa Martinson, USA
I was out roller-skating near the end of my block of our military base house in Alameda, California.
I was watching a family struggle to get a large table into their house when suddenly they dropped the table and the earth began to shake.
My childlike instincts told me they had caused the earth to shake. I held tightly to the stop sign. I heard screaming for children and parents gathering them in grateful happiness.
I still remember my dad not just yelling but screaming my name. I remember the sewage pipes bursting and the awful smell it created.
It was an incredible experience, but I wasn't scared at all.
Many cups in our house broke and pictures had fallen, but everyone was safe. We huddled in the back of our car listening to the radio and watching a portable TV.
They continued to play the scene where the car drove right into the hole the earthquake created in the bridge. This experience is forever in my memory.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathi Real, USA
I was working in downtown San Francisco, just off Union Square. We were getting ready to close up for the day when the quake hit.
At first, we kind of shrugged it off as "just another earthquake", but it continued longer than usual, and harder. Our 10-storey building shook but was OK as it was sandwiched between two taller buildings.
Our power went out and we left the building to try to get home. A co-worker and I were lucky enough to get a cab to my house.
I had just gotten engaged and my fiancé was supposed to be coming to meet me from the East Bay. The timing was such that I knew he could have been either on the Cypress Freeway or the Bay Bridge, both of which had collapsed areas.
There was no electricity, the phone lines were in chaos and I didn't hear from him until 0600 the next day. Twelve hours of fear, sitting by my phone, listening to my battery-powered radio, wondering where he was and if another big aftershock was going to hit.
After learning he was all right, my room-mate and I volunteered to help the people in the Marina area who were fighting the numerous fires, and searching for survivors in the many collapsed houses there.
Some of them we brought back to the house to offer a hot meal, shower, clean clothes, etc. Some we fed there, handed out cold drinks, and just listened.
It was heartbreaking to hear about those who didn't make it.