Sanfrancisco Earthquake 1989 over view

On October 17, 1989, at 5:04:15 p.m., a magnitude 6.9 earthquake severely shook the San Francisco and Monterey Bay regions. The epicenter was located at 37.04° N. latitude, 121.88° W. longitude near Loma Prieta peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains, approximately 14 km northeast of Santa Cruz and 96 km south-southeast of San Francisco. The earthquake occurred when the crustal rocks comprising the Pacific and North American Plates abruptly slipped as much as 2 meters (7 ft) along their common boundary-the San Andreas fault system. The rupture initiated at a depth of 18 km and extended 35 km along the fault, but it did not break the surface of the Earth .

SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE 1989

economic and human costs

The final cost of the earthquake came to around $10 billion. only 62 people were killed but 10 000 people were left homeless, most deaths were a result of The Nimitz highway, Cypress structure, and sections of the Bay Bridge collapsing, due to structural failure. They were subject to ten times the amount of force for which they were designed. Also 59 water mains burst, but 100+ gas mains were ruptured.

San Francisco Earthquake 1989

Prevention, Protection and Management

Even at the time of the quake areas were known to be at risk and not protected, as a results most these areas suffered greatly. Any destruction which occurred in these areas were a result of bad planning as the areas were known to be at risk and had suffered in the past, none of the existing structures were not conveyed which meant that any lasting damge from previous quakes went undetected and newer buldings were not neccesarily earthquake resistant adding to the danger and destruction. even after all the damage which was caused there is no state law to make buildings safer and it is clear to see that each time an earthquake occurs that damage will remain high until something is done.

San Fransisco Earthquake 1989

RELIEF,RESPONES AND MANAGMENT.

The U.S. Geological Survey and the California Geological Survey have announced two new digital geologic maps of the densely populated section of the San Francisco Bay area. These maps are designed to give the general public as well as land-use planners, utilities and lifeline owners, and emergency response officials, new and better tools to assess their risk from earthquake damage.You can see the maps here.

The 1989 earthquake prompted the San Francisco Fire Department to create an all-volunteer rapid-deployment unit. The Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) teaches hands-on disaster skills that will help the members function as part of the special emergency response team. You can learn more about NERT here.

The State of California offers an Emergency Supplies Checklist for earthquake emergencies here.

The American Red Cross offers disaster preparedness information here.

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) offers a course in First Responder Training. More information about the program is available here.

Information for disaster registry and a wealth of important additional information is available from the San Francisco Emergency Medical Services Agency here.

The California Office of Emergency Services (CA-OES) coordinates major disaster relief and response. More information is available here.