A nip in the fall air and the sun already hanging heavy, less than two hours from slipping below the horizon I chose to pull my coat on before heading out the door, my day was ending at 5:00p. I had heels on, which are not typical and as I put my second arm into the sleeve I felt a little off balance and stumbled. I was embarrassed for a split second and then I saw the asphalt in a wave, as if the ocean had moved a mile inland and I dove under the nearest table as I had been taught most of my life living in California.
The big one was hitting as I'd always been promised it would during many earthquake drills in school from Kindergarten through graduation.
5:04p Tuesday October 17, 1989.
It seemed like many minutes passed, but it was just a few seconds. The duration was 8 to 15 seconds depending on where you were. It was 6.9 magnitude, however it was reported as great as 7.4 at time.
63 people lost their lives.
Nearly 4,000 people were injured.
Buildings that had stood since before the Civil War crumbled. Buildings that withstood the 1906 quake fell to the streets.
Water did not flow through the pipes. Electricity was spotty. Natural gas lines ruptured and were shut off at the mains. Traffic signals ceased to work. Phone connection from my town was nearly non existent. Gasoline could not flow from the pumps without electricity.
And with limited exceptions there was no price gouging. There was no hogging resources. There was a great sense of community and help, assistance and support.
I drove to the home of my roommate, my grandma, my grandpa and found my own home had been blocked to entry due to a ruptured gas line. When I did get to return a few days later, I found my home in disarray with dishes broken on the floor, the fridge reeking to high heaven with rotting food, my poor hamster dead. She was standing upright, arms flung up and clearly died of fear. That broke my heart so much. It still breaks my heart to think of it.
I found one working pay phone. For those under 30, those were land lines that anyone could use if they had coins to drop in or someone would accept an incoming collect call. I made a call to a family member on the east coast. I heard what was being reported and how far the quake had gone to the north, east and south. Someone driving by saw me on the phone and quietly queued up behind me, waiting to use the phone presumably to do the same thing--call family and hear about what was going on beyond the Santa Cruz Mountains. I knew I'd not have wanted to wait much to make sure people knew I was okay so I let them know I had to go and hung up. The person behind me picked up the phone and before dialing asked what I had heard. The line had grown to about a dozen people and we all shared where we were, what we'd been doing and quietly stood in line. People who had rolls of quarters offered them to people in line who were in need. No one greedily grabbed, just took a few to place the calls they needed.
Pages and pages and pages I could write about the rest of that evening and the days that followed, but the basic theme is this...
Santa Cruz, California came together as a true community.
We cleared rubble.
Helped neighbors.
Found ways to make life work when things in everyday life were not accessible.
Did not loot or steal.
Shared our limited resources.
Helped board broken windows and secured homes that were structurally harmed.
Opened our homes to those that lost theirs.
I remember that date, that moment of the quake not with fear or anger or upset, but with a bit of pride. That with no true notice, yes there had been two foreshocks in June of 1988 and August 1989, but you did not know where or when 'it' was going to strike. No notice or exceptional preparation and in a highly reactionary situation we reacted beautifully. We reacted with care and compassion.
I won't say I recall the Loma Prieta quake fondly, but I do recall the true after effects with great fondness. Made me incredibly proud not only to call myself a Californian, but a Santa Cruz native as well.
The earth may have cracked, but it didn't shake us!
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