1989 — Oct 17, Loma Prieta Earthquake, San Francisco Bay Area, CA –66-68

lornajarrettblanchard October 17, 1989

–Hundreds. Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA. “Quake damage.” 10-18-1989, A3.[1]

— 275 Smith, Roger. Catastrophes and Disasters. W & R Chambers, 1992, p. 49.[2]

— 271 UPI. “Voice from rubble intensifies search.” Key West Citizen, FL, 10-19-1989, p. 1.[3]

–66-68 Blanchard.[4]

— 67 Dellums (Oakland Mayor); cited in Oakland Tribune, “Victims and…” 10-17-2009.

— 67 EERI. Loma Prieta Earthquake October 17, 1989: Preliminary Reconnaissance Report. 1989.[5]

— 67 History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, October 17, 1989. “Loma Prieta…”[6]

— 66 Blanchard tally of breakouts by identified cause of death.[7]

— 64 Thiel (Ed.). Competing Against Time: Report to Governor…Board of Inquiry…, p. 20.[8]

— 63 ABC7News. “ABC7 News Coverage from 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.” 10-13-2014.

— 63 AP. “Earthquake: The Aftermath.” Orange County Register, 10-25-1989, A16.[9]

— 63 Barmann, Jay. “Loma Prieta 25 Years Later.” SFist Daily, 10-15-2014.

— 63 Cal OES. “Exhibit 1: Recent Earthquakes with Direct Losses, Deaths and Injuries.”[10]

— 63 CDC. “Earthquake-Associated Deaths–Cal.” MMWR, 38/45, 11-17-1989, 767-770.[11]

— 63 Eberhart-Phillips, et al. “Profile of Mortality…” Disasters, 18/2, June 1994, p. 160.[12]

— 63 Geotechnical Board and the Board on Natural Disasters of the NRC. Loma Prieta, p. vii.

— 63 Mahdyiar, Mehrdad, and Nan Ma. “The Loma Prieta Earthquake, 25 Years Later.”

— 63 National Geographic Society. Loma Prieta webpage. Accessed 5-12-2016.

— 63 NIST. Earthquake Loma Prieta California 1989. 6-13-2011, updated 8-11-2011.

— >63 UPI. “Water still a problem for victims.” Dixon Telegraph, Dixon, IL, 10-21-1989, p. 1.

— 63 USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes. 2008 update

— 63 USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Santa Cruz Mountains (Loma Prieta), California, 1989.

— >63 USGS. Progress Toward a Safer Future Since the 1989 Loma Prieta… 10-23-2014.

— 62 Lew. Performance of Structures During…Loma Prieta Earthquake, Oct 17, 1989, p.iii.[13]

— 62 Kircher, C.A. and H. A. Seligson, et al. “When the Big One Strikes…” 2006, p. S321[14]

— 62 Nat. Centers for Environmental Information. Significant Earthquake Database Search.

— 62 Thiel (Ed.). Competing Against Time: Report to Governor…Board of Inquiry…, p. 19.[15]

Breakout by Type of Fatality: (66)

–59 Structural collapse (partial or total) of older structures. Lew. Performance of…, p. iii.

Bridge collapse/failure: (43)

— 1 Bay Bridge. Barmann, J. “Loma Prieta 25 Years Later.” SFist Daily, 10-15-2014.[16]

— 42 I-880, Nimitz Freeway, Oakland; collapse of upper deck onto lower deck. (Lew).[17]

— 42 I-880. East Bay Times. “Victims and heroes of the Cypress Freeway…” 10-17-2009.[18]

— 42 I-880. Thiel (Ed.). Competing Against Time: Report to Governor…, p. 24.[19]

—>41 I-880. Blanchard.[20]

— 41 I-880. History.com.

— 41 I-880. Housner/Thiel. “Competing Against Time: Report of the Governor’s…”

— 41 I-880. Thiel (Ed.). Competing Against Time: Report to Governor…, p. 19.[21]

— 40 I-880. Eberhart-Phillips, et al. “Profile of mortality…” Disasters, 18/2, 1994, abstract.

— 39 I-880 (23 men, 15 women, and a boy). NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.

Structural collapse/failure: ( 14)

— 1 St. Joseph’s Seminary, Los Altos. Workman, Curtis Lee Currin, tower collapse.[22]

— ? Menlo Park, seminary. EERI. Loma Prieta… Chap. 6, p. 47.[23]

— 1 Monterey County. Collapse of wooden water tank tower near residence.[24]

— 5 San Fran., Bluxome St. Collapse of brick wall, NIST. Earthquake Loma Prieta.[25]

— 3 San Fran., Marina District. Collapse of four-story building (one was 3-mo. old).[26]

— 3 Santa Cruz, Pacific Garden Mall. NIST. Earthquake Loma Prieta Cal. 1989.[27]

— 2 Santa Cruz. URM building corner of Pacific and Water; roof collapses.[28]

— 1 Santa Cruz. Roof collapse in a mall. Carino in Lew.[29]

— 1 Watsonville. Building parapet failure; falling bricks kill woman in front of bakery.[30]

Non-structural collapse/failure deaths: ( 9)

— 2 Landslides. Lew. Performance of Structures During…Loma Prieta Earthquake…, p. iii.[31]

— 1 Carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generator used to heat home; male, 60.[32]

— 1 Fall. Alcohol-intoxicated male, 59, on quake-damaged stairway four hours after quake.[33]

— 1 Fire. Lew. Performance of Structures During…Loma Prieta Earthquake…, p. iii.[34]

— 1 Gastrointestinal bleeding. Female, 66, who was not admitted to overcrowded hospital.[35]

— 1 Heart-attack. Male, 77 in his driveway talking with neighbor about damage to his home.[36]

— 1 Heart-attack. Female, 88, unattended at home within 90 minutes of the earthquake.[37]

— 1 Vehicle accident. Male, 27, whose vehicle hit three horses that wandered onto highway.[38]

Narrative Information

CDC: “On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific daylight time, an earthquake registering 7.1 on the Richter scale, with an epicenter in the Loma Prieta section of the San Andreas fault, occurred in northern California… The earthquake released seismic energy equivalent to a 7-megaton nuclear explosion, generated lateral acceleration forces exceeding 60% of the earth’s gravitational pull, and caused an estimated $5.6 billion in property damage (excluding damage to highways, bridges, and state office buildings) in the seven disaster counties (Alameda, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz (combined January 1, 1989, resident population approximately 4,672,300)….” (CDC. “Earthquake-Associated Deaths – California.” MMWR, Vol. 38, No. 45, 11-17-1989, pp. 767-770.)

Eberhart-Phillips, et al.: “Three findings in this study have policy implications that merit further discussion.

“(1) Nearly all deaths in the earthquake occurred within seconds or minutes of injury, at the scene of the injury. Of the 57 directly earthquake-related deaths included in this study, less than 7 per cent of the victims survived to reach a hospital, and all of those died rapidly despite resuscitative efforts. This suggests that intensified efforts to rescue trapped persons and provide on-site medical care to earthquake victims with serious injuries would not have yielded significant reductions in mortality. In California, with its long history of anti-seismic construction, further reductions in earthquake mortality may better be achieved by identifying and modifying persistent hazards in the physical environment that are likely to incur sudden and severe dame during ground motion. This involves identifying locations where ground conditions may amplify shaking in an earthquake, avoiding future development on land that is vulnerable to earthquake damage, and strengthening existing structures that are likely to collapse, such as unreinforced masonry buildings. Unlike many other injury control programs that aim to modify individual behavior, public health efforts to reduce deaths from earthquake-related injuries may need to concentrate on creating a seismically safe environment.

“(2) Four out of five deaths in the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in motor vehicles on public roadways….In this study, a single circumstance, the collapse of the Cypress Viaduct of Interstate 880 in Oakland, accounted for 40 deaths.[39] Designed in 1951 and completed in 1957, this reinforced concrete viaduct was California’s oldest double-deck freeway structure (Benuska, 1990; Governor’s Board of Inquiry on the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1990[40]). With four laves of traffic on each deck, it carried 50,000 vehicles per day along 2.5 miles through an industrial area of Oakland. The northern two-thirds of the structure, the major portion that collapsed in the earthquake, was founded on artificial fill overlying a tidal marsh composed of soft bay mud. Limited seismic retrofitting of the viaduct was done in 1977. Analytical methods available at that time would have predicted failure of the retrofitted structure under ground motion like that of the Loma Prieta earthquake, but no such tests were performed (Governor’s Board of Inquiry on the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1990)….Any plan for earthquake hazard mitigation in a seismically active area such as California should give highest priority to the systematic retrofitting of transportation structures.

“(3) About half of the people who died in the Loma Prieta earthquake died outside their county of residence. The mobility of contemporary populations demonstrated by this finding suggests that statistics on injury incidence are better classified by county of occurrence than by county of residence. This finding also suggests that seismic safety is not merely a local issue, but should be a regional or national concern. Local decisions about land use, building code enforcement, and the retrofitting of potentially hazardous buildings and highways have impacts on earthquake mortality that extend beyond the boundaries of local jurisdictions….” (Eberhart-Phillips, et al. “Profile of Mortality…1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake…” Disasters, 18/2, June 1994, 167-169.)

History.com: “An earthquake hits the San Francisco Bay Area on this day in 1989, killing 67 people and causing more than $5 billion in damages. Though this was one of the most powerful and destructive earthquakes ever to hit a populated area of the United States, the death toll was quite small.

“The proximity of the San Andreas Fault to San Francisco was well-known for most of the 20^th century, but the knowledge did not stop the construction of many un-reinforced brick buildings in the area. Finally, in 1972, revised building codes forced new structures to be built to withstand earthquakes. The new regulations also called for older buildings to be retrofitted to meet the new standards, but the expense involved made these projects a low priority for the community.

“On October 17, the Bay Area was buzzing about baseball. The Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants, both local teams, had reached the World Series. The first game of the series was scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. Just prior to the game, with the cameras on the field, a 7.1-magnitude tremor centered near Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains rocked the region from Santa Cruz to Oakland. Though the stadium withstood the shaking, much of the rest of San Francisco was not so fortunate.

“The city’s marina district suffered great damage. Built before 1972, on an area of the city where there was no underlying bedrock, the liquefaction of the ground resulted in the collapse of many homes. Burst gas mains and pipes also sparked fires that burned out of control for nearly two days. Also hard hit by the quake were two area roads, the Nimitz Expressway and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

“Both roads featured double-decker construction and, on each, the upper level collapsed during the earthquake. Forty-one of the 67 victims of this disaster were motorists on the lower level of the Nimitz, who were killed when the upper level of the road collapsed and crushed them in their cars. Only one person was killed on the Bay Bridge–which had been scheduled for a retrofitting the following week–because there were no cars under the section that collapsed.

“Other heavily damaged communities included Watsonville, Daly City and Palo Alto. More than 10 percent of the homes in Watsonville were completely demolished. The residents, most of whom were Latino, faced additional hardship because relief workers and the Red Cross did not have enough Spanish-speaking aides or translators to assist them.

“The earthquake caused billions of dollars in damages, and contributed in part to the deep recession that California suffered in the early 1990s.” (History.com. Oct 17, 1989. “Loma Prieta Earthquake Strikes Near San Francisco.”)

Lew Introduction: “At 5:04 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time, on October 17, 1989, an earthquake with a surface-wave magnitude of 7.1 occurred with its epicenter located about 10 miles (15 km) northeast of Santa Cruz and 60 miles (95 km) south-southeast of San Francisco, California. According to .the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake ruptured a segment of the San Andreas fault below the Santa Cruz Mountains. The hypocenter was about 11 miles (18 km) beneath the Earth’s surface, and the rupture propagated about 25 miles (40 km) both northwest and southeast within a 10-second period. The earthquake was felt over an area of 400,000 square miles (1,000,000 sq km), from Los Angeles to the south, Oregon to the north, and western Nevada to the east. This earthquake, named the Lorna Prieta earthquake, was the largest on the San Andreas fault since the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 (M = 8.3) when a 275-mile (440-km) stretch of the fault ruptured.

“Strong shaking lasted only about 10 to 15 seconds. Even so the destructive effects of the Lorna Prieta earthquake were extensive. Wood-frame dwellings and unreinforced masonry buildings in communities near the epicenter and in isolated locations in San Francisco and Oakland sustained substantial damage. In Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Los Gatos, there was extensive damage to old buildings in the downtown areas where small businesses are located. Elevated highway structures sustained severe damage in the Bay area, including the collapse of a section of Interstate 880 in Oakland which claimed 42 lives. The collapse of a 50-foot (15-m) link span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge caused the bridge to remain closed for about a month. The Bay Area Rapid Transit System was in service immediately after the earthquake. However, damage to arterial highways and the bridge caused severe impacts on commuters and regional commerce.

“As of December 28, 1989, the following statistics have been compiled by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services:

62 confirmed deaths; 3,757 injuries.
Over $6 billion property damage.
Over 12,000 people displaced from their homes immediately following the earthquake.”

(Lew, Hai S. (Editor). Performance of Structures During the Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 1989. NIST), 1-30-1990, p. 1-1.)

NIST (web overview): “Earthquake Loma Prieta California 1989 The Loma Prieta earthquake was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time. Caused by a slip along the San Andreas Fault, the quake lasted 10–15 seconds and measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale, or 6.9 on the open-ended Richter Scale. The quake killed 63 people throughout northern California, injured 3,757 and left some 3,000-12,000 people homeless.

“The highest number of fatalities, 42, occurred in the City of Oakland because of the failure of the Cypress Street Viaduct on the Nimitz Freeway (Interstate 880), where a double-deck portion of the freeway collapsed, crushing the cars on the lower deck. One 50-foot (15 m) section of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge also collapsed, leading to the single fatality on the bridge. Three people were killed in the collapse of the Pacific Garden Mall in Santa Cruz, and five people were killed in the collapse of a brick wall on Bluxome Street in San Francisco.

“On October 18, 1989, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology requested the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigate earthquake damage including the elevated section of Interstate 880 and the other bridge structures. The team traveled to the San Francisco area and carried out its investigation during the period of October 18-26, 1989.” (NIST. Earthquake Loma Prieta California 1989. 6-13-2011, updated 8-11-2011.)

USGS Historic Earthquakes: “In the Santa Cruz Mountains in the forest of Nisene Marks State Park, about 16 kilometers northeast of Santa Cruz and about 7 kilometers south of Loma Prieta Mountains, California.

“This major earthquake caused 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries, and an estimated $6 billion in property damage. It was the largest earthquake to occur on the San Andreas fault since the great San Francisco earthquake in April 1906.

“The most severe property damage occurred in Oakland and San Francisco, about 100 kilometer north of the fault segment that slipped on the San Andreas. MM intensity IX was assigned to San Francisco’s Marina District, where several houses collapsed, and to four areas in Oakland and San Francisco, where reinforced-concrete viaducts collapsed: Nimitz Freeway (Interstate 880) in Oakland, and Embarcadero Freeway, Highway 101, and Interstate 280 in San Francisco. Communities sustaining heavy damage in the epicentral area included Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and Watsonville.

“Liquefaction, as evidenced by sand boils, lateral spreading, settling, and slumping, occurred as far as 110 kilometers from the epicenter. It caused severe damage to buildings in San Francisco’s Marina district as well as along the coastal areas of Oakland and Alameda in the east San Francisco Bay shore area. Liquefaction also contributed significantly to the property damage in the Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay areas, which lie near the epicentral zone. Structures damaged by liquefaction include buildings, bridges, highways, pipelines, port facilities, airport runways, and levees. Subsurface soil conditions, which amplified accelerations in the San Francisco Bay area, strongly influenced structural damage patterns and probably contributed to liquefaction problems in loose, sandy fills underlain by deep, cohesive soil deposits.

“Engineered buildings, including those near the epicenter, performed well during the earthquake. Hospital buildings in the region sustained only minor system and cosmetic damage, and operational interruptions did not occur. Only five schools sustained severe damage, estimated at $81 million.

“Most of the spectacular damage to buildings was sustained by unreinforced masonry buildings constructed of wood-frame roof and floor systems supported by unreinforced brick walls. These structures failed in areas near the epicenter as well as in areas far from the epicenter, at San Francisco and Monterey. The severe shaking near Santa Cruz caused heavy damage to the unreinforced masonry buildings in that area, particularly in the Santa Cruz Pacific Garden Mall, which consisted of several blocks of unreinforced masonry store buildings.

“More than 80 of the 1,500 bridges in the area sustained minor damage, 10 required temporary supports, and 10 were closed owing to major structural damage. One or more spans collapsed on three bridges. The most severe damage occurred to older structures on poor ground, such as the Cypress Street Viaduct (41 deaths) and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (one death). Damage to the transportation system was estimated at $1.8 billion.

“Most of the more than 1,000 landslides and rockfalls occurred in the epicentral zone in the Santa Cruz Mountains. One slide, on State Highway 17, disrupted traffic for about 1 month.

“The earthquake produced a pattern of northwest-trending extensional fractures in the north end of the aftershock zone northwest of the epicenter, but through-going right-lateral surface faulting was not found above the rupture defined by the main shock and its aftershocks. Six feet of right-lateral strike-slip and 4 feet of reverse-slip was inferred from geodetic data. The only surface fracturing that might be attributed to primary tectonic faulting occurred along a trace of the San Andreas near Mount Madonna Road in the Corralitos area, where en echelon cracks showed 2 centimeters of right-lateral displacement.

“Extensional fractures (maximum net displacement of 92 centimeters) were observed about 12 kilometers northwest of the epicenter, in the Summit Road-Skyland Ridge area, east of State Highway 17, whereas zones of compressional deformation were found along the northeast foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains between Blossom Hill and Palo Alto. In Los Altos and Los Gatos, ground deformation appeared to be associated closely with zones of heavy structural damage and broken underground utility lines.

“Other towns in the area that also experienced severe property damage include Boulder Creek, Corralitos, Hollister, Moss Landing, and several smaller communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

“This earthquake was felt over most of central California and in part of western Nevada. The rate of aftershock activity decreased rapidly with time, but the total number of aftershocks was less than that expected from a generic California earthquake of similar magnitude. Fifty-one aftershocks of magnitude 3.0 and larger occurred during the first day after the main shock, and 16 occurred during the second day. After 3 weeks, 87 magnitude 3.0 and larger aftershocks had occurred.” (USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Santa Cruz Mountains (Loma Prieta), California, 1989.)

Victims we have been able to identify (24)

I-880 Collapse, Oakland:

Asfour, Ramzi Farid, 50. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Beauregard-Sund, Rae, 42. I-880, UCSF vanpool vehicle goes off upper deck. UCSF.
Berumen, Petra, 25. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Edstrom, Joy. I-880, UCSF vanpool vehicle goes off upper deck. UCSF
Hansen, James Thomas, 64. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Helm, Buck Alvin, 58. I-880 collapse. LA Times. “Buck Helm….” 11-20-1989.[41]
Holmes, Ray L., 50. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Lee, Lanna I-880, UCSF vanpool vehicle goes off upper deck. UCSF.
Marsden, Donna, 36. I-880, UCSF vanpool vehicle goes off upper deck. UCSF.
Maxwell, Melissa E., 36. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Moss, Timothy, 40. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Orozco, Yolanda. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Phu, Vinh, 32. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Rubi, Juan Daniel Luis, 28. I-880 collapse. NYT. “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989.
Stewart, Delores Ardoin. I-880, UCSF vanpool vehicle goes off upper deck. UCSF.

Bay Bridge Span Collapse:

Moala, Anamafi Bay Bridge. SF Chronicle. 10-12-1999.

St. Joseph’s Seminary, Los Altos, collapse of 5-story tower attached to 4-story building:

Currin, Curtis Lee. Workman in the tower when it collapsed.

San Francisco Marina District Structural Collapse:

Peterson, Scotty, 3 months Marina District collapse. SF Chronicle. 10-12-1999.

San Francisco Downtown Hotel Structural Failure:

Unidentified Female, 68, from Sweden; died afterwards from injuries. AP. “Rescuers…”

Santa Cruz Pacific Valley Mall Structural Failures:

McCormick, Shawn. Pacific Valley Mall, Santa Cruz.
Ortiz, Robin Lynn. Pacific Valley Mall, Santa Cruz.
Trieman, Catherine. Pacific Valley Mall, Santa Cruz.

Fire, San Francisco Marina District:

Unidentified female. SF Marina district fire. AP. “Rescuers…” 10-24-1989, 12A

Landslide, Bonny Doon:

West, Gary Phillip, 41. Bonny Doon AP. “Rescuers…” 10-24-1989, 12A

Sources

ABC7News, San Francisco, CA. “Video Vault: ABC7 News Coverage from 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.” 10-13-2014. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://abc7news.com/news/video-vault-abc7-news-coverage-from-1989-loma-prieta-earthquake/349508/

Associated Press (Rich Cartiere), San Francisco. “Earthquake: The Aftermath.” Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA, 10-25-1989, p. A16. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/california/santa-ana/santa-ana-orange-county-register/1989/10-25/page-16?tag

Associated Press, San Francisco. “Rescuers Give Up Hope of Finding More Survivors.” Aiken Standard, SC, 10-24-1989, pp. 1 & 12A. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/south-carolina/aiken/aiken-standard/1989/10-24/page-23?tag

Barmann, Jay. “Loma Prieta 25 Years Later.” SFist Daily, 10-15-2014. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://sfist.com/2014/10/15/loma_prieta_25_years_later_harrowin.php

California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Partner Agencies. 2014. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://www.wsspc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CA_EM_2014.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Earthquake-Associated Deaths – California.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), Vol. 38, No. 45, 11-17-1989, pp. 767-770. Accessed 6-1-2016 at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001498.htm

Eberhart-Phillips, J. E., T. M. Saunders, A. L. Robinson, D. L. Hatch, and R. G. Parrish. “Profile of Mortality from the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake using Coroner and Medical Examiner Reports.” Disasters, Vol. 18, No. 2, June 1994, pp. 160-170. Abstract accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8076160

EERI (Earthquake Engineering Research Institute) and the Committee on Natural Disasters of the National Research Council. Loma Prieta Earthquake October 17, 1989: Preliminary Reconnaissance Report. Oakland, CA: EERI, 1989. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: https://www.eeri.org/wp-content/uploads/USA_CA_LomaPrieta_PrelimReport.pdf

Geotechnical Board and the Board on Natural Disasters of the National Research Council. Practical Lessons from the Loma Prieta Earthquake (Report from a Symposium Sponsored by the Geotechnical Board and the Board on Natural Disasters of the National Research Council. Washington, DC, 1995 National Academy Press. Google digitized. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=bTkrAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, October 17, 1989. “Loma Prieta Earthquake Strikes Near San Francisco.” Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/loma-prieta-earthquake-strikes-near-san-francisco

Housner, George W. and Charles C. Thiel, Jr. “Competing Against Time: Report of the Governor’s Board of Inquiry on the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.” Earthquake Spectra, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1990, pp. 681-711. Accessed 6-2-2016 at: http://authors.library.caltech.edu/5013/1/HOUes90.pdf

Kircher, C.A., Seligson, H.A., et. al. (2006), “When the Big One Strikes Again — Estimated Losses due to a Repeat of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake,” Earthquake Spectra Volume 22, Issue S2.

KSBW, Santa Cruz, CA. “Downtown Santa Cruz’s 3 Loma Prieta victims remembered.” 10-17-2014. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/santa-cruz/santa-cruz-loma-prieta-victims-remembered/29203626

Lew, Hai S. (Editor). Performance of Structures During the Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 1989 (NIST Special Publication 778). Gaithersburg, MD: National Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 1-30-1990, 212 pages. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=908823

Los Angeles Times (Philip Hager). “Buck Helm: 90 Hours in Freeway Wreckage Created a Quake Hero: Disaster: Tough longshoreman dies nearly a month after rescue from damaged interstate in Oakland Respiratory failure is blamed.” 11-20-1989. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://articles.latimes.com/1989-11-20/news/mn-65_1_respiratory-failure

Mahdyiar, Mehrdad, and Nan Ma. “The Loma Prieta Earthquake, 25 Years Later.” AIR Currents, Air Worldwide, 10-17-2014. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://www.air-worldwide.com/Publications/AIR-Currents/2014/The-Loma-Prieta-Earthquake,-25-Years-Later/

National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA/ Significant Earthquake Database Search. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?bt_0=1989&st_0=1989&type_17=EXACT&query_17=150&op_12=eq&v_12=USA&type_12=Or&query_14=CA&type_3=Like&query_3=&st_1=&bt_2=&st_2=&bt_1=&bt_4=&st_4=&bt_5=&st_5=&bt_6=&st_6=&bt_7=&st_7=&bt_8=&st_8=&bt_9=&st_9=&bt_10=&st_10=&type_11=Exact&query_11=&type_16=Exact&query_16=&bt_18=&st_18=&ge_19=&le_19=&display_look=1&t=101650&s=1&submit_all=Search+Database

National Geographic Society. Loma Prieta webpage. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/04/forcesofnature/forces/e_4.html

New York Times (Robert Reinhold, Mireya Navarro and Jonathan Rabinovitz). “The Freeway Dead.” 10-29-1989. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/us/freeway-dead-portraits-oakland-special-report-11-whose-lives-ended-quake-crushed.html?pagewanted=all

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Earthquake Loma Prieta California 1989. Gaithersburg, MD: NIST, U.S. Dept. of Commerce 6-13-2011, updated 8-11-2011. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/earthquake/earthquake_lomaprieta_1989.cfm

Oakland Tribune (Angela Hill). “Victims and heroes of the Cypress Freeway collapse are remembered at a West Oakland ceremony.” 10-17-2009. Accessed from East Bay Times, 5-15-2016 at: http://www.eastbaytimes.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_13586478

Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA. “Quake damage.” 10-18-1989, A3. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/california/santa-ana/santa-ana-orange-county-register/1989/10-18/page-3?tag

San Francisco Chronicle. “Out of the Rubble.” 10-12-1999. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Out-of-the-Rubble-3312129.php

St. Joseph’s College. “A Brief History.” Last update appears to be 12-4-2014. Accessed 6-2-2016 at: http://saintjosephscollege.org/

Sever, Mahmet Sukru, et al., “Disaster nephrology: a new concept for an old problem,” Clinical Kidney Journal, 2015, 10 pages. Accessed 6-2-2016 at: http://ckj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/04/26/ckj.sfv024.full.pdf

Smith, Roger. Catastrophes and Disasters. Edinburgh and New York: W & R Chambers, 1992.

The Examiner, Independence, MO. “Shocks shaking Bay Area.” 10-20-1989, p. 8. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/missouri/independence/independence-examiner/1989/10-20/page-8?tag

Thiel, Charles C. Jr. (Editor). Competing Against Time: Report to Governor George Deukmejian from The Governor’s Board of Inquiry on the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, George W. Housner, Chairman. North Highlands, CA: Copyrighted 1990 by the State of California, Office of Planning and Research, published by CA Department of General Services, May 31, 1990, 275 pages. Accessed 6-2-2016 at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/earthquake_engineering/seismic_advisory_board/compete_against_time.pdf

United Press International. “Voice from rubble intensifies search.” Key West Citizen, FL, 10-19-1989, p. 1. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/florida/key-west/key-west-citizen/1989/10-19/

United Press International. “Water still a problem for victims.” Dixon Telegraph, Dixon, IL, 10-21-1989, p. 1. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/dixon/dixon-telegraph/1989/10-21?tag

United States Geological Survey. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes (Website). July 16, 2008 update. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/us_deaths.php

United States Geological Survey. Historic Earthquakes: Santa Cruz Mountains (Loma Prieta), California, 1989 10 18 00:04:15 UTC (Local 1989 10 17 05:04:15 p.m. PDT), Magnitude 6.9, Intensity IX. October 26, 2009 modification. Accessed 5-12-2016 at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1989_10_18.php

United States Geological Survey. Progress Toward a Safer Future Since the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake (Understanding Earthquake Hazards in the San Francisco Bay Area). 10-23-2014 modification. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2014/3092/pdf/fs2014-3092.pdf

University of California San Francisco News Center. “Don’t Forget UCSF’s 1989 Earthquake Victims.” 4-18-2006. Accessed 5-15-2016 at: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2006/04/6676/dont-forget-ucsfs-1989-earthquake-victims

Additional Reading

Bolin, Robert (Ed.). The Loma Prieta Earthquake: Studies of Short-Term Impacts. Boulder, CO: University of Colorado, Institute of Behavioral Science, Program on Environment and Behavior Monograph #50, 1990.

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI). “Loma Prieta Earthquake Reconnaissance Report.” Oakland, CA: Earthquake Spectra, Supplement to Vol. 6, 1990.

[1] “The catastrophic earthquake that rocked Northern California on Tuesday, killing hundreds as it caved in bridges and freeways, ignited fires, and caused widespread damage of buildings, was the second deadliest in the nation’s history….More than 100 people [42] were crushed to death in their cars when a mile-long section of the upper level of the Nimitz (I-880) Freeway collapsed onto the lower level.” Cites “Register wire services.” Included only to indicate how unreliable early news reporting can be.

[2] Smith apparently drew (mistakenly) from early media accounts which were largely the product of “guestimates.” Smith also incorrectly dates the earthquake as Oct 18.

[3] “As many as 200 of those killed were crushed below the top deck of a two-tiered, 1¼-mile section of Interstate 880 in Oakland that crashed down on rush-hour traffic.” (Not true.)

[4] Many sources note 63 deaths. We suspect that this number reflects reporting of direct deaths on the day of the earthquake. Perhaps the best source — Eberhart-Phillips, et al. “Profile of Mortality…” – notes 63 deaths (57 direct and 6 indirect). However, as they note, they do not include one late-occurring death (of a hospitalized I-880 victim who died on Nov 11, outside the 15-day time-frame after the event studied by the authors). This would make 64 deaths. Eberhart-Phillips, et al. also note that there was one additional ‘Victim A’ death which “was definitely an earthquake fatality.” However, since this report came from Vital Statistics records and not the Coroner/Medical Examiner reports which were the basis for their study, this death was not included. When we include this death in our accounting we have 65 deaths. Eberhart- Phillips, et al, also note a second late-occurring death which “occurred after the study period” – that of a person who died from injuries suffered from earthquake damage at home. This would make 66 deaths. Finally, Eberhart-Phillips, et al. note two stillbirth deaths which had been investigated as earthquake-related, but which they did not include in that they included only “deaths of live persons” in their study. If we, on the other hand, include these two abortion deaths which were investigated as earthquake-related, we would arrive at 68 deaths (presuming the possibility that if not for the earthquake these stillbirths would not have occurred). Thus we arrive at 66-68 deaths (with the stillbirths recognized as possible earthquake-related deaths, but not definite earthquake-related deaths). As just one example noting the existence of stillbirths during and following mass disasters, see Mahmet Sukru Sever, et al., “Disaster nephrology: a new concept for an old problem,” Clinical Kidney Journal, 2015, p. 2. Also noted as Non-nephrological acute medical problems following disaster are, for example, myocardial infarction, hypertensive crisis, diabetic ketoacidosis, asthma attacks, and premature delivery.

[5] Chapter 1, “Social Science and Emergency Response,” p. 1-1. No specific information is provided on any fatalities anywhere to any cause; there is just the notation that “Total fatalities numbered 67…” In Chapter 6, the next to make mention of any loss of life, it is written, “Compared to the property loss, casualties were light.” (p. 44.)

[6] Not used as high fatality figure – there is no citation, and consensus of other sources is 62-63.

[7] Forty-three deaths from bridge failure (1, Bay Bridge, 42 I-880 Cypress Structure), 14 from building structural failures, and 9 from landslides, CO poisoning, fall, fire, gastrointestinal bleeding, heart attacks, vehicle accident.

[8] To be noted that on the previous page it is written that according to CA OES there were 62 deaths. The 64 deaths figure comes from Table 3-1. “Earthquake effects for ten counties, preliminary.” Within this table it is noted that there were 43 deaths in Alameda county, 1 in Monterey, 13 in San Francisco, 1 in Santa Clara, and 6 in Santa Cruz. On the following page (p. 21), it is noted that “Table 3-1 shows the damage data for all the 10 counties affected as reported by the Office of Emergency Services (OES).” Same source, fatality figures differ by two deaths.

[9] “The death toll rose to 63 with a coroner’s discovery of a 39^th victim among the remains dug out of the rubble of I-880….Four sections remain inaccessible to searchers.”

[10] Page 2 of 16 in CA OES, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Partner Agencies. 2014.

[11] “Using contact information in Medical Examiner and Coroner Jurisdictions in the United States, public health officials asked county medical examiners and coroners (ME/Cs) in the disaster counties to report the number of earthquake-related deaths investigated in their jurisdictions from October 17 through October 31… County ME/Cs in the disaster area reported 63 earthquake-related deaths (60 directly related and three indirectly related…” [Blanchard note: we know that at least one death occurred outside this time-frame – I-880 injured man in Nov.]

[12] “We reviewed coroner and medical examiner records for all investigated deaths from seven California counties for 15 days following the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989 (N = 327). Data on the circumstances surrounding death were used to classify each case as directly earthquake-related, indirectly earthquake-related, or not earthquake-related. Fifty-seven deaths were judged as directly earthquake-related. Six other deaths were indirectly related. Ten circumstances accounted for all directly earthquake-related deaths, with the collapse of an elevated freeway accounting for 40 of these deaths. Forty-six (80.8 per cent) of the 57 directly earthquake-related deaths occurred in motor vehicles on public roadways. Fifty-three (93.0 per cent) of the directly earthquake-related deaths occurred within seconds or minutes of injury….” [The counties were Alameda, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz. (p. 161).] Authors write: “Of 421 C/ME reports obtained, two were excluded because they involved investigations of stillbirths, not deaths of live persons.” (p. 161.) Additionally: “The C/ME reports for two additional deaths had inadequate information to determine if the deaths had been associated with the earthquake. Vital statistics records indicated that one of these two deaths, that of ‘Victim A’, was definitely an earthquake fatality. Since our study was based exclusively on C/ME records, data on ‘Victim A’ are excluded from the analysis reported here.” (p. 162.) Authors allow that “This total [57 direct and 6 indirect] excludes an unknown number of deaths that may have been associated with the earthquake but were not investigated by the seven C/MEs. It also excludes deaths not investigated adequately to determine earthquake involvement – such as that of ‘Victim A’ – or deaths occurring after October 31, 1989, from injuries received at the time of the earthquake. From news media-accounts we know of two earthquake-associated injuries for which death occurred after the study period. One death was due to the elevated freeway collapse, and one resulted from injuries suffered from earthquake damage at home.” (p. 166)

[13] On page 1-1, when repeating the note of “62 confirmed deaths” as well as noting injuries and property damage estimates, Lew credits the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for the data.

[14] Cites EERI [Earthquake Engineering Research Institute] 1990.

[15] Cites The California Office of Emergency Services. Appears to be related to direct, at-the-time, deaths.

[16] This is a reference to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

[17] Stone, Cooper and Carino, in chapter 5, “Performance of Bridge and Highway structures,” in Lew (Ed.) at p. 5-7, refer to the elevated segment of Interstate 880, “also known as the Nimitz Freeway,” as the Cypress Structure. They also note 42 deaths of motorists, “most of whom were travelling north-bound on the lower level.” (p. 5-11)

[18] Notes that a memorial ceremony Oakland’s Fire Chief “read the names of the 42 people who died in the collapse of the double-decker freeway structure…”

[19] Having previously reported 41 deaths it is written “Collapse of 48 bents, causing the upper roadway to collapse onto the lower roadway; 41 deaths and 108 injuries with 1 subsequent death…”

[20] Must be at least 41 if we assume Eberhart-Phillips, et al., correct as to 40 deaths up to 15 days afterwards, because we know that Buck Alvin Helm died of his injures from the collapse after this time-frame – on November 11.

[21] It is not clear that this includes the mid-Nov death of an initial survivor of the collapse in that it is written “Forty-one people died in the Cypress collapse…moments after the earthquake.”

[22] Wikimedia Commons. “File: St. Joseph’s Seminary, Los Alton, USGS.jpg. Shows USGD photograph of a collapsed tower connected to what appears to be a large four-story building. Contains in “Summary” section and “Description.” The note: “1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Photograph of a collapsed fire-story tower, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Los Altos, California. One person, Curtis Lee Currin, working in the tower was killed.”

[23] Highlighted in yellow with question mark for the one fatality reported by EERI in that this appears to be the incorrect location and should be a reference to death of a workman at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Los Altos. Eberhart-Phillips, et al., note a death at St. Joseph’s College in Los Altos, when a church tower collapsed. (p. 164.)

[24] Eberhart-Phillips, et al., p. 164.

[25] Carino writes that “The entire fourth-story exterior wall [of an unreinforced masonry building] collapsed. Unfortunately, people were driving their cars along the street, and five persons were crushed to death by the falling masonry.” (N. J. Carino. Chap. 4, “Performance of Buildings,” in Lew (Editor). Performance of Structures…, p. 4-2. Eberhart-Phillips, et al., refer to as the 6^th Street public roadway event which caused five deaths at the scene. (p. 167)

[26] Nicholas J. Carino. Chapter 4, “Performance of Buildings,” in Lew (Editor). Performance of Structures…, p. 4-2.

[27] A KSBW, Santa Cruz article “Downtown Santa Cruz’s 3 Loma Prieta victims remembered (10-17-2014) identifies the victims as Shawn McCormick, Robin Lynn Ortiz, and Catherine Trieman.

[28] Nicholas J. Carino. Chapter 4, “Performance of Buildings,” in Lew (Editor). Performance of Structures…, p. 4-42.

[29] Nicholas J. Carino. Chapter 4, “Performance of Buildings,” in Lew (Editor). Performance of Structures…, p. 4-42.

[30] Nicholas J. Carino. Chapter 4, “Performance of Buildings,” in Lew (Editor). Performance of Structures…, p. 4-41.

[31] One landslide was in the beach town of Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz County, and took the life of Gary Phillip West, who was in a car. (AP, San Francisco. “Rescuers Give Up Hope of Finding More Survivors.” Aiken Standard, SC, 10-24-1989, pp. 1 & 12A.) Eberhart-Phillips, et al., refer to this as the collapse of an earth embankment (p. 164).

[32] Eberhart-Phillips, et al., noting that the earthquake had knocked out power to his home (p. 162).

[33] Eberhart-Phillips, et al, noting this as one of six indirect deaths (p. 162).

[34] The fire was in a damaged building at the corner of Beach and Divisadero in the Marina District. (Nicholas J. Carino. Chapter 4, “Performance of Buildings,” in Lew (Editor). Performance of Structures…, p. 4-2.) Victim was a female. (AP. “Rescuers Give Up Hope of Finding More Survivors.” Aiken Standard, SC, 10-24-1989, pp. 1 & 12A.) Eberhart-Phillips, et al., note cause of death as smoke inhalation from residential fire in Marina District, p. 164.

[35] Eberhart-Phillips, et al, noting this as one of six indirect deaths (p. 162).

[36] Eberhart-Phillips, et al, noting this as one of six indirect deaths (p. 162).

[37] Eberhart-Phillips, et al, noting this as one of six indirect deaths (p. 162).

[38] Eberhart-Phillips, et al, noting this as one of six indirect deaths (p. 162). Write that the horses “may have wandered onto the highway because of the earthquake six hours earlier.”

[39] Forty-one when including the November death of an initial survivor who had been hospitalized since rescue.

[40] Governor’s Board of Inquiry on the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Competing Against Time: Report to Governor George Deukmejian. North Highlands, CA: CA Dept. of General Services, 1990.

[41] Had initially survived the I-880 collapse, but died Nov 11 in an Oakland hospital “of ‘respiratory failure’ after his condition abruptly worsened…”