1989 Loma Prieta earthquake - wikipedia 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Image of collapsed double - decker freeway structure in Oakland, California Santa Cruz Oakland Salinas Date October 17, 1989 ( 1989 - 10 - 17 ) Origin time 5 : 04 : 15 p.m. PDT Duration 8 -- 15 seconds Magnitude 6.9 M Depth 12 mi ( 19 km ) Epicenter 37 ° 02 ′ N 121 ° 53 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 37.04 ° N 121.88 ° W ﻿ / 37.04 ; - 121.88 Coordinates : 37 ° 02 ′ N 121 ° 53 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 37.04 ° N 121.88 ° W ﻿ / 37.04 ; - 121.88 Type Oblique - slip Areas affected Central Coast ( California ) San Francisco Bay Area United States Total damage $5.6 -- 6 billion Max. intensity IX ( Violent ) Peak acceleration 0.65g ( at epicenter ) Tsunami Yes Landslides 1,000 -- 4,000 Foreshocks 5.3 M June 27, 1988 5.4 M August 8, 1989 Casualties 63 killed, 3,757 injured The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in Northern California on October 17 at 5 : 04 p.m. local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park approximately 10 mi ( 16 km ) northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of the San Andreas Fault System and was named for the nearby Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. With a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX ( Violent ), the shock was responsible for 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The Loma Prieta segment of the San Andreas Fault System had been relatively inactive since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake ( to the degree that it was designated a seismic gap ) until two moderate foreshocks occurred in June 1988 and again in August 1989. Damage was heavy in Santa Cruz County and less so to the south in Monterey County, but effects extended well to the north into the San Francisco Bay Area, both on the San Francisco Peninsula and across the bay in Oakland. No surface faulting occurred, though a large number of other ground failures and landslides were present, especially in the Summit area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Liquefaction was also a significant issue, especially in the heavily damaged Marina District of San Francisco, but its effects were also seen in the East Bay, and near the shore of Monterey Bay, where a non-destructive tsunami was also observed. Due to the sports coverage of the 1989 World Series, it became the first major earthquake in the United States that was broadcast live on national television ( and is sometimes referred to as the `` World Series earthquake '' as a result ). Rush - hour traffic on the Bay Area freeways was lighter than normal because the game was about to begin, and this may have prevented a larger loss of life, as several of the Bay Area 's major transportation structures suffered catastrophic failures. The collapse of a section of the double - deck Nimitz Freeway in Oakland was the site of the largest number of casualties for the event, but the collapse of man - made structures and other related accidents contributed to casualties occurring in San Francisco, Los Altos, and Santa Cruz. Contents 1 Background 1.1 Forecasts 1.2 Foreshocks 2 Earthquake 2.1 Characteristics 2.2 Ground effects 2.3 Injuries and fatalities 2.4 Magnetic disturbances 3 Damage 3.1 Marina District 3.2 Santa Cruz and Monterey counties 3.3 San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge 3.4 Oakland and Interstate 880 / Cypress Viaduct 3.5 Effects on transportation 4 1989 World Series 5 In popular culture 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Background See also : List of fault zones The history of earthquake investigations in California has been largely focused on the San Andreas Fault System, due to its strong influence in the state as the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate ; it is the most studied fault on Earth. Andrew Lawson, a geologist from the University of California, Berkeley, had named the fault after the San Andreas Lake ( prior to the occurrence of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake ) and later led an investigation into that event. The San Andreas Fault ruptured for a length of 290 mi ( 470 km ) during the 1906 shock, both to the north of San Francisco and to the south in the Santa Cruz Mountains region. Several long term forecasts for a large shock along the San Andreas Fault in that area had been made public prior to 1989 ( the event and its aftershocks occurred within a recognized seismic gap ) but the earthquake that transpired was not what had been anticipated. The 1989 Loma Prieta event originated on an undiscovered oblique - slip reverse fault that is located adjacent to the San Andreas Fault. Forecasts Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains See also : California earthquake forecast and Earthquake prediction Since many forecasts had been presented for the region near Loma Prieta, seismologists were not taken by surprise by the October 1989 event. Between 1910 and 1989 there were 20 widely varying forecasts that were announced, with some that were highly specific, covering multiple aspects of an event, while others were less complete and vague. With a M6. 5 event on the San Juan Bautista segment, or an M7 event on the San Francisco Peninsula segment, United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) seismologist Allan Lindh 's 1983 forecasted rupture length of 25 miles ( 40 km ) ( starting near Pajaro Gap, and continuing to the northwest ) for the San Juan Bautista segment nearly matched the actual rupture length of the 1989 event. An updated forecast was presented in 1988, at which time Lindh took the opportunity to assign a new name to the San Juan Bautista segment -- the Loma Prieta segment. In early 1988, the Working Group for California Earthquake Probabilities ( WGCEP ) made several statements regarding their forecasts for the 225 mi ( 360 km ) northern San Andreas Fault segment, the 56 mi ( 90 km ) San Francisco Peninsula segment, and a 18.8 -- 22 mi ( 30 -- 35 km ) portion of that segment which was referred to as the southern Santa Cruz Mountains segment. The thirty year probability for one or more M7 earthquakes in the study area was given as 50 %, but because of a lack of information and low confidence, a 30 % probability was assigned to the Southern Santa Cruz Mountains segment. Two moderate shocks, referred to as the Lake Elsman earthquakes by the USGS, occurred in the Santa Cruz Mountains region in June 1988 and again in August 1989. Following each event, the State office of Emergency Services issued ( for the first time in Bay Area history ) short term advisories for a possible large earthquake, which meant there was `` a slightly increased likelihood of an M6. 5 event on the Santa Cruz Mountains segment of the San Andreas fault ''. The advisories following the two Lake Elsman events were issued in part because of the statements made by WGCEP and because they were two of the three largest shocks to occur along the 1906 earthquake 's rupture zone since 1914. Foreshocks See also : Coulomb stress transfer and Foreshock USGS ShakeMaps showing similar intensity patterns for the June 1988 ( left ) and August 1989 events near Lake Elsman in the Santa Cruz Mountains The M5. 3 June 1988 and the M5. 4 August 1989 events ( local magnitude ) also occurred on previously unknown oblique reverse faults and were within 3 mi ( 4.8 km ) of the M6. 9 Loma Prieta mainshock epicenter, near the intersection of the San Andreas and Sargent faults. Total displacement for these shocks was relatively small ( approximately 4 in ( 100 mm ) of strike - slip and substantially less reverse - slip ) and although they occurred on separate faults and well before the mainshock, a group of seismologists considered these to be foreshocks due to their location in space and time relative to the main event. Each event 's aftershock sequence and effect on stress drop was closely examined, and their study indicated that the shocks affected the mainshock 's rupture process. Following the August 8, 1989, shock, in anticipation of an upcoming large earthquake, staff at the University of California, Santa Cruz deployed four accelerometers in the area, which were positioned at the UCSC campus, two residences in Santa Cruz, and a home in Los Gatos. Unlike other nearby ( high gain ) seismographs that were overwhelmed ( driven off scale ) by the large magnitude mainshock, the four accelerometers captured a useful record of the main event and more than half an hour of the early aftershock activity. The June 27, 1988, shock occurred with a maximum intensity of VI ( Strong ). Its effects included broken windows in Los Gatos, and other light damage in Holy City, where increased flow was observed at a water well. Farther away from the Santa Cruz Mountains, pieces of concrete fell from a parking structure at the Sunnyvale Town Center, a two - level shopping mall in Santa Clara County. More moderate damage resulted from the August 8, 1989, shock ( intensity VII, Very strong ) when chimneys were toppled in Cupertino, Los Gatos, and Redwood Estates. Other damage included cracked walls and foundations and broken underground pipes. At the office of the Los Gatos City Manager, a window that was cracked had also been broken in the earlier shock. Also in Los Gatos, one man died when he exited a building through a window and fell five stories. Earthquake Play media Ground shaking animation The Loma Prieta earthquake was named for Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which lies just to the east of the mainshock epicenter. The duration of the heaviest shaking in the Santa Cruz Mountains was about 15 seconds, but strong ground motion recordings revealed that the duration of shaking was not uniform throughout the affected area ( due to different types and thicknesses of soil ). At sites with rocky terrain, the duration was shorter and the shaking was much less intense, and at locations with unconsolidated soil ( like the Marina District or the Cypress Street Viaduct ) the intensity of the shaking was more severe and lasted longer. The strong motion records also allowed for the causative fault to be determined -- the rupture was related to the San Andreas Fault System. While a Mercalli Intensity of VIII ( Severe ) covered a large swath of territory relatively close to the epicenter ( including the cities of Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and Watsonville ) further to the north, portions of San Francisco were assessed at intensity IX ( Violent ). At more than 44 miles ( 70 km ) distant, the San Francisco Bay Area recorded peak horizontal accelerations that were as high as 0.26g, and close to the epicenter they peaked at more than 0.6g. In a general way, the location of aftershocks of the event delineated the extent of the faulting, which ( according to seismologist Bruce Bolt ) extended about 24 miles ( 40 km ) in length. Because the rupture took place bilaterally, the duration of strong shaking was about half of what it would have been had it ruptured in one direction only. The duration of a typical M6. 9 shock with a comparable rupture length would have been about twice as long. Characteristics USGS ShakeMap showing the intensity of the mainshock Gregory Beroza, a seismologist with Stanford University, made several distinctions regarding the 1906 and 1989 events. Near Loma Prieta, the 1906 rupture was more shallow, had more strike - slip, and occurred on a fault that was near vertical. The 1989 event 's oblique - slip rupture was at 10 km and below on a fault plane that dipped 70 ° to the southwest. Because much of the slip in 1989 occurred at depth and the rupture propagated up dip, Beroza proposed that the overlying San Andreas Fault actually inhibited further rupture and also maintains that the occurrence of an event at the location that was forecast by the WGCEP in 1988 was coincidental. The contrasting characteristics of the 1906 and 1989 events were examined by seismologists Hiroo Kanamori and Kenji Satake. The significant amount of vertical displacement in 1989 was a key aspect to consider because a long - term sequence of 1989 - type events ( with an 80 -- 100 - year recurrence interval ) normally result in regions with high topographic relief, which is not seen in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Three scenarios were presented that might explain this disparity. The first is that the geometry of the San Andreas Fault goes through a transition every several thousand years. Secondly, slip type could vary from event to event. And lastly, the 1989 event did not occur on the San Andreas Fault. Ground effects While the effects of a four - year drought limited the potential of landslides, the steep terrain near the epicenter was prone to movement, and up to 4,000 landslides may have occurred during the event. The majority of landslides occurred to the southwest of the epicenter, especially along road cuts in the Santa Cruz Mountains and in the Summit Road area, but also along the bluffs of the Pacific Coast, and as far north as the Marin Peninsula. Highway 17 was blocked for several weeks due to a large slide and one person was killed by a rockfall along the coast. Other areas with certain soil conditions were susceptible to site amplification due to the effects of liquefaction, especially near the shore of San Francisco Bay ( where its effects were severe in the Marina District ) and to the west of the epicenter near rivers and other bodies of water. Minor lateral spreading was also seen along the shores of San Francisco Bay and to the south near Monterey Bay. Other ground effects included downslope movement, slumps, and ground cracks. Injuries and fatalities Fifty - seven of the deaths were directly caused by the earthquake ; six further fatalities were ruled to have been caused indirectly. In addition, there were 3,757 injuries as a result of the earthquake, 400 of which were serious. The highest number of fatalities, 42, occurred in Oakland because of the Cypress Street Viaduct collapse on the Nimitz Freeway ( Interstate 880 ), where the upper level of a double - deck portion of the freeway collapsed, crushing the cars on the lower level, and causing crashes on the upper level. One 50 - foot ( 15 m ) section of the San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge also collapsed, leading to a single fatality, a 23 - year - old woman named Anamafi Moala. Three people were killed in the collapse of buildings along 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. When the earthquake hit, the third game of the 1989 World Series baseball championship was about to begin. Because of the unusual circumstance that both of the World Series teams ( the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics ) were based in the affected area, many people had left work early or were staying late to participate in after work group viewings and parties. As a consequence the normally crowded freeways contained unusually light traffic. If traffic had been normal for a Tuesday rush hour, injuries and deaths would certainly have been higher. The initial media reports failed to take into account the game 's effect on traffic and initially estimated the death toll at 300, a number that was corrected to 63 in the days after the earthquake. Magnetic disturbances After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred, a group led by Antony C. Fraser - Smith of Stanford University reported that the event was preceded by disturbances in background magnetic field noise as measured by a sensor placed in Corralitos, California, about 4.5 miles ( 7 km ) from the epicenter. From October 5, they reported a substantial increase in noise was measured in the frequency range 0.01 -- 10 Hz. The measurement instrument was a single - axis search - coil magnetometer that was being used for low frequency research. Precursor increases of noise apparently started a few days before the earthquake, with noise in the range 0.01 -- 0.5 Hz rising to exceptionally high levels about three hours before the earthquake. Though this pattern gave scientists new ideas for research into potential precursors to earthquakes, and the Fraser - Smith et al. report remains one of the most frequently cited examples of a specific earthquake precursor, more recent studies have cast doubt on the connection, attributing the Corralitos signals to either unrelated magnetic disturbance or, even more simply, to sensor - system malfunction. Damage Five people were killed on Sixth Street between Bluxome and Townsend in San Francisco as a brick facade collapsed onto the sidewalk and street. The earthquake caused severe damage in some very specific locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, most notably on unstable soil in San Francisco and Oakland. Oakland City Hall was evacuated after the earthquake until US $80 M seismic retrofit and hazard abatement work was completed in 1995. Many other communities sustained severe damage throughout the region located in Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Major property damage in San Francisco 's Marina District 60 mi ( 97 km ) from the epicenter resulted from liquefaction of soil used to create waterfront land. Other effects included sand volcanoes, landslides and ground ruptures. Some 12,000 homes and 2,600 businesses were damaged. In Santa Cruz, close to the epicenter, 40 buildings collapsed, killing six people. At the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Plunge Building was significantly damaged. Liquefaction also caused damage in the Watsonville area. For example, sand volcanoes formed in a field near Pajaro as well as in a strawberry field. The Ford 's department store in Watsonville experienced significant damage, including a crack down the front of the building. Many homes were dislodged if they were not bolted to their foundations. There were structural failures of twin bridges across Struve Slough near Watsonville. In Moss Landing, the liquefaction destroyed the causeway that carried the Moss Beach access road across tidewater basin, damaged the approach and abutment of the bridge linking Moss Landing spit to the mainland and cracked the paved road on Paul 's Island. In the Old Town historical district of the city of Salinas, unreinforced masonry buildings were partially destroyed. An estimated 1.4 million people lost power following the quake, mainly due to damaged electrical substations. Many San Francisco radio and television stations were temporarily knocked off the air. KRON - TV was off the air for about half an hour, while KGO - AM was off the air for about 40 minutes. About an hour and 40 minutes after the quake, KTVU resumed broadcasting, with their news anchors reporting from the station 's parking lot. KCBS - AM switched immediately to backup power and managed to stay on air despite a subsequent generator failure. KCBS later won a Peabody Award for their news coverage, as did KGO - TV. Power was restored to most of San Francisco by midnight, and all but 12,000 customers had their power restored within two days. The quake caused an estimated $6 billion in property damage, becoming one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history at the time. Private donations poured into aid relief efforts and on October 26, President George H.W. Bush signed a $1.1 billion earthquake relief package for California. Marina District A building in the Marina District at Beach and Divisadero settled onto its buckled garage supports. Four people died in San Francisco 's Marina District, four buildings were destroyed by fire, and seven buildings collapsed. Another 63 damaged structures were judged too dangerous to live in. Among the four deaths, one family lost their infant son who choked on dust while trapped for an hour inside their collapsed apartment. The Marina district was built on a landfill made of a mixture of sand, dirt, rubble, waste and other materials containing a high percentage of groundwater. Some of the fill was rubble dumped into San Francisco Bay after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but most was sand and debris laid down in preparation for the 1915 Panama - Pacific International Exposition, a celebration of San Francisco 's ability to rebound after its catastrophe in 1906. After the Exposition, apartment buildings were erected on the landfill. In the 1989 earthquake, the water - saturated unconsolidated mud, sand and rubble suffered liquefaction, and the earthquake 's vertical shock waves rippled the ground more severely. At the intersection of Beach and Divisadero Streets in San Francisco, a natural gas main rupture caused a major structure fire. The fire department selected bystanders to help run fire hoses from a distance because the nearby hydrant system failed. Since the bay was only two blocks from the burning buildings, water from the bay was pumped by the fireboat Phoenix, to engines on the shore, and from there sprayed on the fire. The apartment structures that collapsed were older buildings that included ground floor garages, which engineers refer to as a soft story building. Santa Cruz and Monterey counties Santa Cruz 's historic Pacific Garden Mall suffered severe damage -- three died. In Santa Cruz, the Pacific Garden Mall was severely damaged, with falling debris killing three people, half of the six earthquake deaths in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Some 31 buildings were damaged enough to warrant demolition, seven of which had been listed in the Santa Cruz Historic Building Survey. The four oldest were built in 1894, the five oldest withstood the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Immediately, a number of civilians began to free victims from the rubble of Ford 's Department Store and the Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company -- both buildings had collapsed inward on customers and employees alike. Two police officers crawled through voids in the debris, found one victim alive and another dead inside the coffee house. Santa Cruz beach lifeguards assisted in moving the victims. Police dogs were brought in to help locate other victims. A woman was found dead inside Ford 's. The civilians who were helpful initially, were soon viewed by police and fire officials as a hindrance to operations, with frantic coworkers and friends of a coffee house employee thought to be trapped under the rubble continuing their efforts in the dark. Police arrested those who refused to stop searching. This became a political issue in the following days. The body of a young woman coffee worker was found under a collapsed wall late the next day. During the first few days following the quake, electric power to most Santa Cruz County subscribers was out, and some areas had no water. Limited phone service remained online, providing a crucial link to rescue workers. Widespread search operations were organized to find possible victims inside the remains of fallen structures. As many as six teams of dogs and their handlers were at work identifying the large number of damaged buildings that held no victims. The quake claimed one life in Watsonville : a driver who collided with panicked horses after they escaped their collapsed corral. In other Santa Cruz and Monterey county locations such as Boulder Creek and Moss Landing, a number of structures were damaged, with some knocked off of their foundations. Many residents slept outside their homes out of concern for further damage from aftershocks, of which there were 51 with magnitudes greater than 3.0 in the following 24 hours, and 16 more the second day. The earthquake damaged several historic buildings in the Old Town district of Salinas, and some were later demolished. San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge Collapsed upper deck section of the San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge The San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge suffered severe damage, as a 76 - by - 50 - foot ( 23 m × 15 m ) section of the upper deck on the eastern cantilever side fell onto the deck below. The quake caused the Oakland side of the bridge to shift 7 in ( 18 cm ) to the east, and caused the bolts of one section to shear off, sending the 250 - short - ton ( 230 t ) section of roadbed crashing down like a trapdoor. Traffic on both decks came to a halt, blocked by the section of roadbed. Police began unsnarling the traffic jam, telling drivers to turn their cars around and drive back the way they had come. Eastbound drivers stuck on the lower deck between the collapse and Yerba Buena Island were routed up to the upper deck and westward back to San Francisco. A miscommunication made by emergency workers at Yerba Buena Island routed some drivers the wrong way ; they were directed to the upper deck where they drove eastward toward the collapse site. One of these drivers did not see the open gap in time ; the car plunged over the edge and smashed onto the collapsed roadbed. The driver, Anamafi Moala, died, and the passenger was seriously injured. Caltrans removed and replaced the collapsed section, and re-opened the bridge on November 18. Oakland and Interstate 880 / Cypress Viaduct The worst disaster of the earthquake was the collapse of the two - level Cypress Street Viaduct of Interstate 880 in West Oakland. The failure of a 1.25 - mile ( 2.0 km ) section of the viaduct, also known as the `` Cypress Structure '' and the `` Cypress Freeway '', killed 42 and injured many more. Built in the late 1950s, the Cypress Street Viaduct, a stretch of Interstate 880, was a double - deck freeway section made of nonductile reinforced concrete that was constructed above and astride Cypress Street in Oakland. Roughly half of the land the Cypress Viaduct was built on was filled marshland, and half was somewhat more stable alluvium. Because of new highway structure design guidelines -- the requirement of ductile construction elements -- instituted following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, a limited degree of earthquake reinforcement was retrofitted to the Cypress Viaduct in 1977. The added elements were longitudinal restraints at transverse expansion joints in the box girder spans, but no studies were made of possible failure modes specific to the Cypress Viaduct. When the earthquake hit, the shaking was amplified on the former marshland, and soil liquefaction occurred. The Cypress Street Viaduct 's collapsed upper deck and failed support columns During the earthquake, the freeway buckled and twisted to its limits before the support columns failed and sent the upper deck crashing to the lower deck. In an instant, 41 people were crushed to death in their cars. Cars on the upper deck were tossed around violently, some of them flipped sideways and some of them were left dangling at the edge of the highway. Nearby residents and factory workers came to the rescue, climbing onto the wreckage with ladders and forklifts and pulling trapped people out of their mangled cars from under a four - foot gap in some sections. Sixty members of Oakland 's Public Works Agency left the nearby city yard and joined rescue efforts. Employees from Pacific Pipe ( a now - closed factory adjoining the freeway ) drove heavy lift equipment to the scene and started using it to raise sections of fallen freeway enough to allow further rescue. Hard - hatted factory workers continued their volunteer operation nonstop until October 21, 1989, when they were forced to pause as U.S. President George H.W. Bush and California Governor George Deukmejian viewed the damage. The efforts of the rescue workers finally yielded results on October 21, just after dawn, when survivor Buck Helm was freed from the wreckage, having spent 90 hours trapped in his crushed car under the rubble. Dubbed `` Lucky Buck '' by the local radio, Helm lived for another 29 days on life support, but then died of respiratory failure at the age of 57. Rebuilding the freeway took nine years. In the meantime, traffic was detoured through nearby Interstate 980, causing increased congestion. Instead of rebuilding Interstate 880 over the same ground, Caltrans rerouted the freeway farther west around the outskirts of West Oakland to provide better access to the Port of Oakland and the San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge, and to meet community desires to keep the freeway from cutting through residential areas. Street - level Mandela Parkway now occupies the previous roadbed of the Cypress structure. Effects on transportation Aftershocks Mag Date ( UTC ) Year 4.3 M Oct 18 at 00 : 38 1989 5.2 M Oct 18 at 00 : 41 1989 4.0 M Oct 18 at 02 : 26 1989 4.1 M Oct 18 at 03 : 30 1989 4.2 M Oct 18 at 04 : 50 1989 4.2 M Oct 18 at 05 : 18 1989 4.3 M Oct 18 at 10 : 22 1989 4.3 M Oct 19 at 9 : 53 1989 4.2 M Oct 21 at 10 : 22 1989 4.7 M Oct 21 at 22 : 14 1989 4.3 M Nov 2 at 05 : 50 1989 4.3 M Apr 18 at 13 : 37 1990 4.5 M Apr 18 at 13 : 41 1990 5.4 M Apr 18 at 13 : 53 1990 4.2 M Apr 18 at 14 : 52 1990 4.2 M Apr 18 at 15 : 28 1990 4.5 M Mar 24 at 03 : 42 1991 Dietz & Ellsworth 1997, p. 43 Immediately after the earthquake, San Francisco Bay Area airports were closed so officials could conduct visual inspection and damage assessment procedures. San Jose International Airport, Oakland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport all opened the next morning. Large cracks in Oakland 's runway and taxiway reduced the usable length to two - thirds normal, and damage to the dike required quick remediation to avoid flooding the runway with water from the bay. Oakland Airport repair costs were assessed at $30 million. San Francisco Municipal Railway ( Muni ) lost all power to electric transit systems when the quake hit, but otherwise suffered little damage and no injuries to operators or riders. Cable cars and electric trains and buses were stalled in place -- half of Muni 's transport capability was lost for 12 hours. Muni relied on diesel buses to continue abbreviated service until electric power was restored later that night, and electric units could be inspected and readied for service on the morning of October 18. After 78 hours, 96 percent of Muni services were back in operation, including the cable cars. Amtrak intercity rail service into Oakland from the California Zephyr continued, but the Coast Starlight was temporarily suspended north of Salinas because of damage to the Southern Pacific 's Coast Line. The earthquake changed the Bay Area 's automobile transportation landscape. Not only did the quake force seismic retrofitting of all San Francisco Bay Area bridges, it caused enough damage that some parts of the region 's freeway system had to be demolished. Damage to the region 's transportation system was estimated at $1.8 billion. San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge, Interstate 80 : The Bay Bridge was repaired and reopened to traffic in a month. However, the earthquake made it clear that the Bay Bridge, like many of California 's toll bridges, required major repair or replacement for long - term viability and safety. Construction on a replacement for the eastern span began on January 29, 2002. The project was completed on September 2, 2013. Cypress Street Viaduct / Nimitz Freeway, Interstate 880 : The double - decked Cypress Street Viaduct, Interstate 880 was demolished soon after the earthquake, and was not replaced until July 1997. The replacement freeway section is a single - deck rather than double - deck structure, and was re-routed around the outskirts of West Oakland, rather than bisecting it as the Cypress Street Viaduct had done. The former route of the Cypress Street Viaduct was reopened as the ground - level Mandela Parkway. Embarcadero Freeway, State Route 480 : Earthquake damage forced the closure and demolition of San Francisco 's incomplete and controversial Embarcadero Freeway ( State Route 480 ). This removal opened up San Francisco 's Embarcadero area to new development. The elevated structure, which ran along San Francisco 's waterfront, was later demolished and replaced with a ground - level boulevard. Southern Freeway, Interstate 280 : Seismic damage also forced the long - term closure of Interstate 280 in San Francisco ( north of US 101 ), another concrete freeway which had never been completed to its originally planned route. The uncompleted northernmost stub of I - 280 was demolished during August -- October 1995 while one connecting ramp between northbound I - 280 and southbound US 101 was opened in December 1995. The full I - 280 project was completed in late 1997. Central Freeway, U.S. Highway 101 : San Francisco 's Central Freeway ( part of US 101 and a key link to the Bay Bridge flyover ) was another concrete double - deck structure which faced demolition because of safety concerns. Originally terminating at Franklin Street and Golden Gate Avenue near San Francisco 's Civic Center, the section past Fell Street was demolished first, then later the section between Mission and Fell Streets. The section from Mission Street to Market Street was rebuilt ( completed September 2005 ) as a single - deck elevated freeway, touching down at Market Street and feeding into Octavia Boulevard, a ground - level urban parkway carrying traffic to and from the major San Francisco traffic arterials that the old elevated freeway used to connect to directly, including Fell and Oak Streets ( which serve the city 's western neighborhoods ) and Franklin and Gough Streets ( which serve northern neighborhoods and the Golden Gate Bridge ). State Route 1 collapsed near Watsonville with Loma Prieta Peak visible in background ( left ) and landslide debris blocking both eastbound lanes of Highway 17 near Summit Road State Route 17 : The mountain highway was closed for about one month because of a landslide between Scotts Valley and Los Gatos. The route crosses the San Andreas Fault in the Santa Cruz Mountains, near the earthquake 's epicenter. State Route 1 : In Watsonville, the Struve Slough Bridge collapsed, with concrete / steel support columns penetrating up through the bridge deck. The highway was closed for several months until it could be demolished and rebuilt. Another section of Highway 1 through Monterey suffered damage and had to be rebuilt as well. Additionally, the bridge carrying Highway 1 over the Salinas River near Fort Ord was damaged and subsequently rebuilt. Bay Area Rapid Transit : The BART rail system, which hauled commuters between the East Bay and San Francisco via the Transbay Tube, was virtually undamaged and only closed for post-earthquake inspection. With the Bay Bridge closed because of its damage, the Transbay Tube became the quickest way into San Francisco via Oakland for a month, and ridership increased in the three work weeks following the earthquake, going from 218,000 riders per average weekday to more than 330,000 post-quake, a 50 percent increase. BART instituted round - the - clock train service until December 3 when they returned to their normal schedule. In 2006, BART began the $1.3 billion Earthquake Safety Program to retrofit tunnels, aerial structures, and stations, with completion planned by 2022. Amtrak : Historic 16th Street Station in downtown Oakland suffered significant damage and was rendered structurally unsound. Amtrak would shift its Oakland operations to a new station in Emeryville. Transbay Ferries : Ferry service between San Francisco and Oakland, which had ended decades before, was revived during the month - long closure of the Bay Bridge as an alternative to the overcrowded BART. A ferry terminal was put together in Alameda, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged a suitable ferry dock at the Berkeley Marina. Additionally, the demolition of the quake - damaged Embarcadero Freeway led to the Ferry Building Terminal renovation, increasing the efficiency of ferry service to the peninsula. The passenger - only service proved popular and continues to expand its service. The need for a robust ferry system in the event that the region 's roads and tunnels become impassable in an emergency led to the creation of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system. 1989 World Series Main article : 1989 World Series The 1989 World Series featured the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants in the first cross-town World Series since 1956. Game 3 of the series was scheduled to begin at San Francisco 's Candlestick Park on October 17 at 17 : 35 PDT, and American TV network ABC began its pre-game show at 17 : 00 PDT. When the quake struck at approximately 17 : 04, sportscaster Tim McCarver was narrating taped highlights of Game 2, which had been played two days earlier across the Bay Bridge in Oakland. Television viewers saw the video signal begin to break up, heard McCarver repeat a sentence as the shaking distracted him, and heard McCarver 's colleague Al Michaels exclaim, `` I 'll tell you what, we 're having an earth --. '' At that moment, the signal from Candlestick Park was lost. The network put up a green ABC Sports graphic while it scrambled to repair the video feed ( the broadcast cameras and mics were powered by the local power supply ), but audio from the stadium was restored after a few seconds via a telephone link. Michaels had to pick up a POTS phone in the press booth ( phones work off a separate power supply ) and call ABC headquarters in New York, at which point they put him back on the air. Michaels cracked, `` Well, folks, that 's the greatest open in the history of television, bar none ! '' accompanied by the combined screams of excitement and panic from fans who had no idea of the devastation elsewhere. ABC then switched to an episode of Roseanne which was on standby for a rain delay situation, while attempting to restore electricity to its remote equipment. With anchorman Ted Koppel in position in Washington, D.C., ABC News began continuous coverage of the quake at about 5 : 40 p.m., at the same time as CBS News ; Al Michaels, in the process, became a de facto on - site reporter for ABC. NBC News also began continuous coverage, with Tom Brokaw, about an hour later. The Goodyear blimp had already been overhead to cover the baseball game, and ABC used it to capture images of damage to the Bay Bridge and other locations. Inside Candlestick Park, fewer than half of the more than 62,000 fans had reached their seats by the time of the quake, and the load on the structure of the stadium was lower than maximum. There had also been a seismic - strengthening project previously completed on the upper deck concrete windscreen that may have prevented large numbers of injuries in the event of serious damage or even a catastrophic collapse. Fans reported that the stadium moved in an articulated manner as the earthquake wave passed through it, that the light standards swayed by many feet, and that the concrete upper deck windscreen moved in a wave - like manner over a distance of several feet. When electrical power to the stadium was lost, someone drove a police car onto the field, where an officer used the car 's public address system to advise that the game had been postponed. After the shaking subsided, many of the players on both teams immediately searched for, and gathered, family and friends from the stands before evacuating the facility. The October 18, 1989 edition NBC 's Today that covered the earthquake ran until noon Eastern Time. Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley and Deborah Norville anchored from Chicago ( where they had planned to originally do a special celebratory edition ), with reports done by Bob Jamieson and Don Oliver in San Francisco, and George Lewis in Oakland. Jim Miklasewski and Bob Hager covered disaster response from Washington. NBC Sports commentators Bob Costas and Jimmy Cefalo discussed the effect the temblor would have on the 1989 World Series. The World Series was delayed while the Bay Area started the recovery process. While the teams ' stadiums had suffered only minor damage, it took several days for power and transmission links at Candlestick Park to be repaired. After ten days ( the longest delay in World Series history ), Game 3 was held in San Francisco on October 27 and Game 4 the following afternoon as the A 's swept the Giants, four games to none. It is likely that the World Series game saved many lives as Bay Area residents ; who would have normally been on the freeways, were at home ready to watch the game when the earthquake hit. It is a rough estimate that thousands of people may have otherwise been on the Cypress Structure during the 5 : 00 p.m. rush - hour, as the structure was said to have carried 195,000 vehicles a day. In popular culture One person died when a five - story tower collapsed at St. Joseph 's Seminary in Santa Clara County. The events in the Full House episode `` Aftershocks '' ( December 8, 1989 ) take place following the Loma Prieta earthquake ; it centers on Stephanie Tanner having a hard time telling her father Danny about how she fears another aftershock might happen and kill him ( since he is a widowed single father ) as well as other members of the family. After The Shock ( 1990 ), a made - for - TV movie with stories of rescue after the disaster. Miracle on Interstate 880 ( 1993 ), a TV movie fictionalization and re-enactment of events at the collapsed Cypress Structure. Journeyman ( 2007 ), TV show on NBC in which the main character travels back in time to save a person who died during the earthquake. Occurs in third episode, `` Game Three, '' in reference to the 1989 World Series. Midnight Caller ( 1990 ), TV show set in San Francisco in the aftermath of the earthquake. In the show, a caller jokes about Candlestick Park being renamed `` Wiggly Field ''. Loma Prieta ( band ), The San Francisco - based group derived their name from the 1989 earthquake. Medium ( 2005 ), TV show on NBC in which a character uses her coincidental presence in Oakland during the earthquake as an opportunity to fake her own death and disappear. Occurs in the episode `` Sweet Dreams ''. Fringe ( 2008 ), TV show on FOX in which a character 's parents are killed in the Oakland Bay Bridge collapse, while the Observer is watching her and her parents. Occurs in the episode `` August ''. In a later episode ( `` Amber 31422 '', November 4, 2010 ), the alternate Walter Bishop refers to October 17, 1989, as the first time he used his amber - based protocol to heal breaches between the two universes. The Grateful Dead performed the Rodney Crowell song `` California Earthquake '' at their concert in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 1989, then again three nights later in Charlotte, North Carolina -- the only times the band ever performed the song. On December 6, 1989, the band played an earthquake benefit concert at the Oakland - Alameda County Coliseum Arena. Gillian Welch in the song `` Wrecking Ball '' on her Soul Journey album. The 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas ( Rockstar ) takes place in 1992. In it, fictional San Fierro, the game 's version of San Francisco, has a few quake - damaged areas courtesy of a major shaker occurring three years before the game begins. WatchMojo.com ranked this incident at # 9 on Top 10 Craziest Events Caught on Live TV, and # 10 on Top 10 Crazy Moments in Sports. In 2016, it was one of the events that was ' predicted ' in a Taiwanese time - travelling drama series Back to 1989 ( On October 17, 1989, the protagonist, Chen Che, accidentally traveled from 2016 to the year before he was born ( more precisely : a month before he was conceived ) to find out about his birth father, the reasons that led to his mother 's personality change and ' predict ' the number of days it would take for this earthquake 's survivors to be found, and the initial death toll stood at `` at least 271 '' ). See also Disasters portal Earthquakes portal San Francisco Bay Area portal 1994 Northridge earthquake Earthquake engineering List of earthquakes in California List of earthquakes in the United States References ^ Jump up to : Stover, C.W. ; Coffman, J.L. ( 1993 ), Seismicity of the United States, 1568 -- 1989 ( Revised ), U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, pp. 98, 99, 180 -- 186 ^ Jump up to : Clough, G.W. ; Martin, II, J.R. ; Chameau, J.L. ( 1994 ), `` The geotechnical aspects '', Practical lessons from the Loma Prieta earthquake, National Academies Press, pp. 29 -- 46, ISBN 978 - 0309050302 Jump up ^ Housner 1990, pp. 19 -- 23 Jump up ^ Ma, K. ; Satake, K. ; Kanamori, H. ( 1991 ), `` The origin of the tsunami excited by the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake -- Faulting or slumping -- '' ( PDF ), Geophysical Research Letters, American Geophysical Union, 18 ( 4 ) : 637 -- 640, Bibcode : 1991GeoRL... 18... 637M, doi : 10.1029 / 91gl00818 Jump up ^ Breaker, L.C. ; Murty, T.S. ; Norton, J.G. ; Carrol, D. ( 2009 ), `` Comparing sea level response at Monterey, California from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the 1964 Great Alaskan earthquake '' ( PDF ), Science of Tsunami Hazards, Tsunami Society, 28 ( 5 ) : 255 -- 271 ^ Jump up to : Perfettini, H. ; Stein, R.S. ; Simpson, R. ; Cocco, M. ( 1999 ), `` Stress transfer by the 1988 -- 1989 M = 5.3 and 5.4 Lake Elsman foreshocks to the Loma Prieta fault : Unclamping at the site of peak mainshock slip '' ( PDF ), Journal of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth, Wiley, 104 ( B9 ) : 20,169, 20,173, 20,174, Bibcode : 1999JGR... 10420169P, doi : 10.1029 / 1999JB900092 ^ Jump up to : Bolt, B. ( 2005 ), Earthquakes : 2006 Centennial Update -- The 1906 Big One ( Fifth ed. ), W.H. Freeman and Company, pp. 10 -- 14, 293 -- 297, ISBN 978 - 0716775485 Jump up ^ Yeats, R. ( 2012 ), Active Faults of the World, Cambridge University Press, pp. 80 -- 83, 89 -- 92, ISBN 978 - 0521190855 ^ Jump up to : Harris, R.A. ( 1998 ), `` Forecasts of the 1989 Loma Prieta, California, earthquake '', Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Seismological Society of America, 88 ( 4 ) : 898, 900, 904, 905, 908 -- 911 Jump up ^ McNally, K.C. ; Similia, G.W. ; Brown, J.G. ( 1996 ), `` Main - shock and very early aftershock activity '', The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 -- Main Shock Characteristics, USGS Professional Paper 1550 - A, Earthquake Occurrence, United States Government Printing Office, pp. 147 -- 150 Jump up ^ Times Wire Services ( August 8, 1989 ). `` 1 Dead as 5.1 Quake Jolts Bay Area : Man, 19, Leaps to Death in Panic ; Damage Minor ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ Beroza, G. ( 1991 ), `` Near - source modeling of the Loma Prieta earthquake : Evidence for heterogeneous slip and implications for earthquake hazard '', Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Seismological Society of America, 81 ( 5 ) : 1603, 1604, 1609, 1616 Jump up ^ Kanamori, H. ; Satake, K. ( 1996 ), `` Broadband study of the source characteristics of the earthquake '', The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 -- Main Shock Characteristics, USGS Professional Paper 1550 - A, Earthquake Occurrence, United States Government Printing Office, pp. A75, A79 Jump up ^ Eberhart - Phillips JE ; Saunders TM ; Robinson AL ; Hatch DL ; Parrish RG ( June 1994 ). `` Profile of mortality from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake using coroner and medical examiner reports ''. Disasters. 18 ( 2 ) : 160 -- 70. PMID 8076160. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1467 - 7717.1994. tb00298. x. ^ Jump up to : USGS. San Andreas Fault, chapter 1, p. 5. `` Comparison of the Bay Area Earthquakes : 1906 and 1989. '' Retrieved August 31, 2009. Jump up ^ Palm, 1992, p. 63. Jump up ^ Windmiller, Joel. `` Cypress Viaduct Freeway ''. Archived from the original on July 7, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Fagan, Kevin ( October 12, 1999 ). `` Out of the Rubble. Ten Years After : First in a week - long retrospective of the Loma Prieta quake ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Jump up ^ Hager, Philip ( 1 May 1991 ). `` Claim Settled in the Only Quake Death, Injury on Bay Bridge ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` 1989 : Earthquake hits San Francisco ''. BBC News. October 17, 1989. Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ Dan Rather ( 1989 - 10 - 18 ). CBS Evening News ( Television broadcast ). Event occurs at 0 : 18. Retrieved 2013 - 02 - 26. The deadliest earthquake in the United States in more than 80 years kills close to 300 people... ^ Jump up to : Fraser - Smith, Antony C. ; Bernardi, A. ; McGill, P.R. ; Ladd, M.E. ; Helliwell, R.A. ; Villard, Jr., O.G. ( August 1990 ). `` Low - Frequency Magnetic Field Measurements Near the Epicenter of the M 7.1 Loma Prieta Earthquake '' ( PDF ). Geophysical Research Letters. Washington, D.C. : American Geophysical Union. 17 ( 9 ) : 1465 -- 1468. Bibcode : 1990GeoRL... 17.1465 F. ISSN 0094 - 8276. OCLC 1795290. doi : 10.1029 / GL017i009p01465. Retrieved December 18, 2010. Jump up ^ Campbell, W.H. ( 2009 ). `` Natural magnetic disturbance fields, not precursors, preceding the Loma Prieta earthquake ''. Journal of Geophysical Research. 114 ( A5 ) : A05307. Bibcode : 2009JGRA... 11405307C. doi : 10.1029 / 2008JA013932. Jump up ^ Thomas, J.N. ; Love, J.J. ; Johnston, M.J.S. ( April 2009 ). `` On the reported magnetic precursor of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake ''. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. 173 ( 3 -- 4 ) : 207 -- 215. Bibcode : 2009PEPI... 173... 207T. doi : 10.1016 / j. pepi. 2008.11. 014. ^ Jump up to : `` Earthquake ''. Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 5. Retrieved September 5, 2009. Jump up ^ Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. Oakland City Hall ^ Jump up to : Gathright, Alan ( October 16, 2004 ). `` Loma Prieta Earthquake : 15 years later. Shaken -- and then stirred. Santa Cruz capitalized on fate, working together to rebuild downtown after quake ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Jump up ^ `` Press -- Boardwalk History ''. Beachboardwalk.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Watsonville Area ''. Pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Moss Landing ''. Pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Salinas ''. Pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Eguchi, R.T. ; Seligson, H.A. ( 1994 ), `` Lifeline perspectives '', Practical lessons from the Loma Prieta earthquake, National Academies Press, p. 142, ISBN 0309050308 ^ Jump up to : Rapaport, Richard J. ( 1998 ). The Media : Radio, Television, and Newspapers. The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 -- Lifelines : Performance of the Built Environment. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. p. A43 - A46. Retrieved 2013 - 02 - 28. ^ Jump up to : Gerard, Jeremy. The New York Times, October 24, 1989. `` The California Quake ; NBC News Tells of Errors and Obstacles to Early Coverage of Quake ''. Retrieved September 11, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Bay Area Television News Prepares For End Of An Era ''. May 12, 2008. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013. Jump up ^ `` KTVU comes back on - air after 1989 earthquake ''. Jump up ^ San Francisco Earthquake History 1990 -- 1994. Archived November 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 11, 2009. Jump up ^ Pub. L. 101 -- 130 Jump up ^ Fradkin, 1999, p. 188. Jump up ^ Fradkin, 1999, pp. 138, 193 -- 194. ^ Jump up to : San Francisco Earthquake History 1915 -- 1989. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 29, 2009. ^ Jump up to : An Oral History of the Presidio of San Francisco During the Loma Prieta Earthquake Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Earthquake ''. Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 1. Retrieved September 5, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Scawthorn ; Eidinger ; Schiff, eds. ( 2005 ). Fire Following Earthquake. Reston, VA : ASCE, NFPA. ISBN 9780784407394. Jump up ^ Guardians of the City. Fire Department. `` SFFD Fireboats : The History of the Fireboat Phoenix. '' Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Fireboats : Then and Now ''. FEMA. Technical Report Series. Special Report. USFA - TR - 146 / May 2003. Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country ''. Retrieved August 29, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` Buildings Demolished in Downtown Santa Cruz as a Result of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1989 ''. Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Local History. Retrieved August 29, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Local History. Log of Emergency Response Operations. Tuesday, October 17, 5 : 04PM, 15 - second earthquake ! Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Local History. Photograph Collection : rs009. The front of Ford 's Department Store on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Cathcart Street. A woman inside the store died from falling debris during the earthquake. Ford 's was later razed. Date : October 18, 1989. Courtesy of Ray Sherrod. Retrieved August 29, 2009. ^ Jump up to : sfmuseum.org. Edward J. Phipps. Overview of Fire Service Responses near the Epicenter of the Loma Prieta Earthquake Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Earthquake ''. Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 6. Retrieved August 29, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` Earthquake ''. Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2009. ^ Jump up to : USGS. Historic Earthquakes. Santa Cruz Mountains ( Loma Prieta ), California. Retrieved September 6, 2009. Jump up ^ Cheevers, Jack ( October 25, 1989 ). `` Bay Area Quake -- Landmarks Totter -- Preservationists Fear Quake - Damaged Historic Buildings Will Be Torn Down ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ The New York Times ( October 20, 1989 ). `` The California Quake : The Bay Bridge ; Damage to Link Across Bay Is More Serious Than Thought ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Viets, Jack ( October 27, 1989 ). `` They Drove Into Gap : Survivor Recalls Death Of Sister on Bay Bridge ''. San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle Publishing Co. p. A21. ^ Jump up to : Fowler, Dave. The Initial Response to the Cypress Freeway Disaster. Retrieved September 5, 2009. Jump up ^ Fagan, Kevin ( October 12, 1999 ). `` On the Cypress Freeway, Strangers Joined Together for a Snap in Time ''. San Francisco Chronicle. ^ Jump up to : Housner 1990, pp. 3 -- 5 Jump up ^ EERI, November 1989. Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 1989. Preliminary Reconnaissance Report. Retrieved September 6, 2009. Jump up ^ `` People Moving Gingerly As They Pick Up Pieces ''. The New York Times. October 21, 1989. Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Survivor Pulled From Cypress Carnage, Miracle in the Ruins : Buck Helm is ' Tough as Nails. ' ''. San Francisco Examiner. October 22, 1989. p. A1. Jump up ^ `` Man Who Lived 90 Hours In Quake Rubble Is Dead ''. The New York Times. Associated Press. November 20, 1989. ^ Jump up to : Caltrans. 1998 Highway Congestion Monitoring Report. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Jump up ^ Berthelsen, G. ( November -- December 2002 ), `` Mandela Parkway : Building Pride in West Oakland '' ( PDF ), California Transportation Journal, California Department of Transportation, 3 ( 3 ) : 2 -- 7 Jump up ^ `` Earthquake ''. Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 7. Retrieved September 5, 2009. Jump up ^ Roderick, Kevin ( October 19, 1989 ). `` Search For Bodies to Take Days -- State Puts Toll at 273, Then Says It Is Uncertain ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ McDonnell 1993, p. 58 ^ Jump up to : Stead, William G., Muni Railway Manager. `` Municipal Railway Earthquake Notebook Tuesday, October 17, 1989, 5 : 04 PM '', December 15, 1989, letter to Art Agnos, mayor. Retrieved September 5, 2009. Jump up ^ Egelko, Bob ( October 18, 1989 ). `` Earthquake leaves behind urban travel nightmares ''. Nashua Telegraph. Jump up ^ Golden Gate Bridge. Overview of Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit. Updated February 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Caltrans. Richmond -- San Rafael Bridge. Retrofit Project. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Caltrans. Bay Area Toll Bridges. Benicia -- Martinez Bridge Seismic Retrofit. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Caltrans. Bay Area Toll Bridges. Carquinez Bridge Seismic Retrofit. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Caltrans. Bay Area Toll Bridges. San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge Retrofit. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Caltrans. Bay Area Toll Bridges. San Mateo -- Hayward seismic retrofit. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Caltrans. Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee. Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Report, September 30, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Jump up ^ Housner 1990, p. 62 Jump up ^ San Francisco - Oakland bay bridge opens to traffic after years of delays World news. theguardian.com. Retrieved on 2013 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ SFGate.com. Demolition Of I - 280 Stub Starts Saturday : China Basin area work to last for 2 months. August 8, 1995. Retrieved October 17, 2009. Jump up ^ SFGate.com. Interchange Between Highway 280, 101 Reopens. December 4, 1995. Retrieved October 17, 2009. Jump up ^ SFGate.com. Major Bay Area Highway Projects. February 23, 1997. Retrieved October 17, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Earthquake Safety Program ''. Bay Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved January 9, 2016. Jump up ^ National Association of Railroad Passengers ( August 19, 1994 ). `` Hotline # 839 ''. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 31. Jump up ^ McDonnell 1993, pp. 47, 48 Jump up ^ Cabanatuan, Michael ( April 13, 2006 ). `` BAY AREA / Revived push for water - transit network / Emergency system seen as necessary after a big quake ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 9, 2016. Jump up ^ News report on MLB.COM, 1 : 50 minutes in. Retrieved August 29, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Earthquake ''. Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 3. Retrieved September 5, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Hinshaw, Horace. Pacifica Tribune, June 17, 2009. `` Remembering World Series Earthquake. '' Hosted by MercuryNews.com. Retrieved August 30, 2009. Jump up ^ Lipman - Blumen, Jean. ( 2006 ) The Allure of Toxic Leaders : Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians -- and How We Can Survive Them, p. 107. Sourcebooks, Inc. ISBN 0 - 19 - 531200 - 7 Jump up ^ Schwartz, Bob ( 20 October 1989 ). `` THE BAY AREA QUAKE : Pressure Points : WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN 'T, AND WHY : NIMITZ FREEWAY : Collapse of Deck Puts Spotlight on Aging Roads ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 January 2017. Jump up ^ After the Shock ( TV 1990 ) on IMDb Jump up ^ Miracle on Interstate 880 ( TV 1993 ) on IMDb Jump up ^ Journeyman ( TV Series 2007 ) on IMDb Jump up ^ Sarah Gilbert ( October 18, 2005 ). `` Medium : Sweet Dreams ''. TV Squad. Retrieved April 20, 2010. Jump up ^ Cecil ( November 19, 2009 ). `` Fringe : August ''. TV Fodder. Retrieved May 7, 2010. Jump up ^ Todd Kennedy Hitting the American Highway : The Ontology of the Hobo - hero -- 2007 ``... she also utilizes Dylan 's rain imagery as blinding when she says, `` Oh the weather and a blinding hail / We were riding high ' til the ' 89 quake / Hit the Santa Cruz garden mall / Like a Wrecking Ball... p. 180 '' Jump up ^ Top 10 Craziest Events Caught on Live TV Jump up ^ Top 10 Craziest Events Caught on Live TV Jump up ^ Top 10 Crazy Moments in Sports Jump up ^ Top 10 Crazy Moments in Sports Sources Bonilla, M.G. ( 1992 ), `` Geologic and historical factors affecting earthquake damage '', The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 -- Marina District, USGS Professional Paper 1551 - F, Strong Ground Motion and Ground Failures, United States Government Printing Office Dietz, L.D. ; Ellsworth, W.L. ( 1997 ), `` Aftershocks of the Loma Prieta earthquake and their tectonic implications '', The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 -- Aftershocks and Postseismic Effects, USGS Professional Paper 1550 - D, Earthquake Occurrence, United States Government Printing Office Fradkin, Philip L. Magnitude 8 : Earthquakes and Life Along the San Andreas Fault, University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0 - 520 - 22119 - 2 Housner, G.W. ( 1990 ), Competing Against Time -- Report to Governor George Deukmejian from The Governor 's Board of Inquiry on the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake ( PDF ), State of California, Office of Planning and Research McDonnell, J.A. ( 1993 ), Response to the Loma Prieta Earthquake ( PDF ), United States Government Printing Office, ISBN 0 - 16 - 041730 - 9 Palm, Risa ; Michael E. Hodgson. After a California Earthquake : Attitude and Behavior Change, University Of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN 0 - 226 - 64499 - 5 Sims, J.D. ; Garvin, C.D. ( 1998 ), `` Observations of multiple liquefaction events at Soda Lake, California, during the earthquake and its aftershocks '', The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 -- Liquefaction, USGS Professional Paper 1551 - B, Strong Ground Motion and Ground Failure, United States Government Printing Office, pp. 151 -- 163 Yashinsky, M. ( 1998 ), The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 -- Highway Systems, USGS Professional Paper 1552 - B, Performance of the Built Environment, United States Government Printing Office, pp. 1 -- 191 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Loma Prieta earthquake. A film clip `` Loma Prieta Earthquake, ca. 1989 '' is available at the Internet Archive Reflections 20 Years Later in Loma Prieta -- Whole Mountain Source Book October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake -- United States Geological Survey The October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake -- Selected Photographs -- United States Geological Survey Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 1989. Preliminary Reconnaissance Report -- Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Giants Clubhouse : ' 89 Earthquake -- Major League Baseball After The Fall : The earthquake shattered the Bay Area, but the cities hardest hit are now mostly rebuilt -- and the scars are hidden deep below the surface -- San Francisco Chronicle Out of the Rubble. Ten Years After : First in a week - long retrospective of the Loma Prieta quake -- San Francisco Chronicle Photographs of the aftermath of the Loma Prieta Earthquake from the UC Santa Cruz Library 's Digital Collections 25 Years After Loma Prieta, Earthquake Science Is Transformed -- LiveScience Links to related articles Major League Baseball on ABC Related programs Major League Baseball Game of the Week ( 1953 -- 1954 ; 1960 ; 1965 ) Monday Night Baseball ( 1976 -- 1988 ) Thursday Night Baseball ( 1989 ) Baseball Night in America ( 1994 -- 1995 ) ESPN Major League Baseball ( broadcasters ) Non-MLB programs Little League World Series ( broadcasters ) Wide World of Sports Related articles The Baseball Network World Series television ratings Television contracts List of events on Wide World of Sports 1953 season Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Philadelphia Athletics ABC 's owned & operated TV stations WABC 7 ( Brooklyn Dodgers, August 17, 1953 - October 1, 1953 ) WLS 7 ( Chicago Cubs, 2015 - present ) KTRK 13 ( Houston Astros, 1962 - 1972 ) WFIL 6 ( later WPVI ) ( Philadelphia Athletics, 1949 - 1954 ; 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no World Series was held in 1994 due to a players ' strike. 1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 See also Pre-World Series champions World Series champions Most Valuable Players Starting pitchers Babe Ruth Award Commissioner 's Trophy World Series ring Appearances Streaks Droughts Series ( by franchise ) Broadcasters TV ratings ALCS NLCS ALDS NLDS ALWC NLWC Game 7 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Dauvray Cup Temple Cup Chronicle - Telegraph Cup Book : World Series Oakland Athletics Formerly the Philadelphia Athletics and the Kansas City Athletics Based in Oakland, California ( Bay Area ) Franchise History in Philadelphia in Kansas City in Oakland Seasons Records No - hitters Players Owners and executives Managers Broadcasters Radio network Award winners and league leaders First - round draft picks Opening Day starting pitchers Ballparks Columbia Park Shibe Park Municipal Stadium Oakland -- Alameda County Coliseum Oakland Ballpark ( proposed ) Spring training Barrs Field Terry Park Ballfield Wilmington Park McCurdy Field Connie Mack Field McKechnie Field Rendezvous Park Scottsdale Stadium I Phoenix Municipal Stadium Hohokam Stadium Culture Philadelphia Athletics ( football ) Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame Charlie - O Stomper $100,000 Infield `` Holy Toledo ! '' Billyball `` Celebration '' ( song ) Big Three Moneyball book film Mount Davis Lore The Mack Attack Perfect games Catfish Hunter Dallas Braden Bash Brothers 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake 20 game win streak 2014 AL Wild Card Game Rivalries Philadelphia Phillies San Francisco Giants Key personnel Owners : John J. Fisher President : Dave Kaval Executive vice president : Billy Beane General manager : David Forst Manager : Bob Melvin Important figures Hall of Fame members Home Run Baker Chief Bender Mickey Cochrane Eddie Collins Dennis Eckersley Rollie Fingers Jimmie Foxx Lefty Grove Rickey Henderson Catfish Hunter Reggie Jackson Nap Lajoie Connie Mack Eddie Plank Al Simmons Rube Waddell Dick Williams Wall of Fame members Sam Chapman Jack Coombs Jimmy Dykes George Earnshaw Ferris Fain Bob Johnson Eddie Joost Bing Miller Wally Moses Rube Oldring Bobby Shantz Eddie Rommel Elmer Valo Rube Walberg Gus Zernial World Series Champions ( 9 ) 1910 1911 1913 1929 1930 1972 1973 1989 American League Championships ( 15 ) 1902 1905 1910 1911 1913 1914 1929 1930 1931 1972 1973 1988 1989 1990 AL West Division Championships ( 16 ) 1971 1972 1973 1981 1988 1989 1990 1992 2000 2002 2003 2006 2012 2013 AL Wild Card ( 2 ) 2001 2014 Minors AAA Nashville Sounds AA Midland RockHounds A Adv. Stockton Ports Beloit Snappers Short A Vermont Lake Monsters Rookie AZL Athletics DSL Athletics Seasons ( 118 ) 1900s 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 San Francisco Giants Formerly the New York Gothams and the New York Giants Based in San Francisco, California ( Bay Area ) Franchise History in New York History in San Francisco Seasons Records No - hitters Players Managers Owners and executives Opening Day starting pitchers First - round draft picks Broadcasters Ballparks Polo Grounds Oakland Park St. George Grounds Hilltop Park Seals Stadium Candlestick Park AT&T Park Spring training Payne Park Flamingo Field LSU Varsity Baseball Field Al Lang Stadium Phoenix Municipal Stadium Scottsdale Stadium Culture and lore 1894 Temple Cup New York Brickley Giants Merkle 's Boner 1951 NL tie - breaker series `` Shot Heard ' Round the World '' The Catch Curse of Coogan 's Bluff 1962 NL tie - breaker series 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake White Flag Trade The Fan McCovey Cove Willie Mac Award Game 163 ( 1998 ) Do n't Stop Believin ' `` Lights '' ( Journey song ) The Franchise ( Showtime TV series ) Matt Cain 's perfect game 2014 NL Wild Card Game 2016 NL Wild Card Game KNBR Rivalries Los Angeles Dodgers Oakland Athletics Subway Series / New York Yankees Retired numbers NY NY 11 20 24 27 30 36 44 42 Pre-World Series Champions ( 2 ) 1888 1889 Temple Cup Champions ( 1 ) 1894 World Series Champions ( 8 ) 1905 1921 1922 1933 1954 2012 2014 National League Championships ( 23 ) 1888 1889 1904 1905 1911 1912 1913 1917 1921 1922 1923 1924 1933 1936 1937 1951 1954 1962 1989 2002 2012 2014 Division titles ( 8 ) 1971 1989 1997 2000 2003 2012 Wild card ( 3 ) 2002 2014 2016 Minor league affiliates AAA Sacramento River Cats AA Richmond Flying Squirrels A Adv. San Jose Giants Augusta GreenJackets Short A Salem - Keizer Volcanoes Rookie AZL Giants DSL Giants Seasons ( 136 ) 1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 ← Earthquakes in 1989 → Gissar ( 5.3, Jan 22 ) † ‡ Malawi ( 6.3, Mar 10 ) West Papua ( 6.0, Aug 1 ) † Loma Prieta ( 6.9, Oct 17 ) † Chenoua ( 5.9, Oct 29 ) † Ungava ( 6.3, Dec 25 ) Newcastle ( 5.6, Dec 28 ) † indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths ‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year Earthquakes in California Very Large ( 7.0 -- 7.9 ) 1812 San Juan Capistrano ( 6.9 -- 7.5 ) 1838 San Andreas ( 6.8 -- 7.2 ) 1857 Fort Tejon ( 7.9 ) 1872 Lone Pine ( 7.4 -- 7.9 ) 1892 Laguna Salada ( 7.1 -- 7.2 ) 1906 San Francisco ( 7.8 ) 1952 Kern County ( 7.3 ) 1980 Eureka ( 7.3 ) 1992 Cape Mendocino ( 7.2 ) 1992 Landers ( 7.3 ) 1999 Hector Mine ( 7.1 ) 2010 Baja California ( 7.2 ) Large ( 6.0 -- 6.9 ) 1868 Hayward ( 6.3 -- 6.7 ) 1892 Vacaville -- Winters ( 6.4, 6.2 ) 1898 Mare Island ( 5.8 -- 6.4 ) 1918 San Jacinto ( 6.7 ) 1925 Santa Barbara ( 6.8 ) 1932 Eureka ( 6.4 ) 1933 Long Beach ( 6.4 ) 1940 El Centro ( 6.9 ) 1948 Desert Hot Springs ( 6.3 ) 1971 San Fernando ( 6.5 -- 6.7 ) 1979 Imperial Valley ( 6.4 ) 1983 Coalinga ( 6.2 ) 1984 Morgan Hill ( 6.2 ) 1986 North Palm Springs ( 6.0 ) 1986 Chalfant Valley ( 6.2 ) 1989 Loma Prieta ( 6.9 ) 1992 Big Bear ( 6.5 ) 1994 Northridge ( 6.7 ) 2003 San Simeon ( 6.6 ) 2010 Eureka ( 6.5 ) 2014 South Napa ( 6.0 ) Moderate ( 5.0 -- 5.9 ) 1957 San Francisco ( 5.7 ) 1969 Santa Rosa ( 5.6, 5.7 ) 1973 Point Mugu ( 5.8 ) 1979 Coyote Lake ( 5.7 ) 1987 Whittier Narrows ( 5.9 ) 1990 Upland ( 5.7 ) 1991 Sierra Madre ( 5.6 ) 2000 Yountville ( 5.0 ) 2007 Alum Rock ( 5.6 ) 2008 Chino Hills ( 5.5 ) Earthquakes in the United States Historical 1638 New Hampshire 1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1755 Cape Ann 1811 -- 12 New Madrid 1838 San Andreas 1857 Fort Tejon 1865 Memphis 1867 Manhattan, Kansas 1868 Hawaii 1868 Hayward 1872 Lone Pine 1872 North Cascades 1886 Charleston 1887 Sonora 1892 Laguna Salada 1892 Vacaville -- Winters 1898 Mare Island 20th - century 1906 San Francisco 1906 Aleutian Islands 1909 Wabash River 1915 Pleasant Valley 1916 Irondale 1918 San Jacinto 1925 Santa Barbara 1931 Valentine 1932 Eureka 1933 Long Beach 1935 Helena 1940 El Centro 1940 New Hampshire 1944 Cornwall -- Massena 1946 Aleutian Islands 1947 Wisconsin 1948 Desert Hot Springs 1949 Olympia 1952 Kern County 1957 Andreanof Islands 1957 San Francisco 1959 Hebgen Lake 1964 Alaska 1965 Rat Islands 1965 Puget Sound 1968 Illinois 1969 Santa Rosa 1971 San Fernando 1973 Point Mugu 1975 Near Islands 1975 Morris 1975 Hawaii 1979 Coyote Lake 1979 Imperial Valley 1980 Eureka 1983 Coalinga 1983 Borah Peak 1984 Morgan Hill 1986 North Palm Springs 1986 Chalfant Valley 1987 Whittier Narrows 1989 Loma Prieta 1990 Upland 1991 Sierra Madre 1992 Cape Mendocino 1992 Landers 1992 Big Bear 1993 Scotts Mills 1993 Klamath Falls 1994 Northridge 1995 Marathon 1996 Duvall 1998 Pymatuning 1999 Hector Mine 2000 Yountville 21st - century 2001 Nisqually 2002 Denali 2003 Alabama 2003 San Simeon 2006 Gulf of Mexico 2006 Kiholo Bay 2007 Alum Rock 2008 Illinois 2008 Chino Hills 2010 Eureka 2010 Baja California 2010 Indiana 2011 Colorado 2011 Virginia 2011 Oklahoma 2014 Aleutian Islands 2014 Southeast Alaska 2014 South Napa 2016 Oklahoma 2016 Hawthorne Swarms 2001 Enola 2008 Reno 2010 -- 11 Guy - Greenbrier 2012 Brawley 2009 -- 17 Oklahoma Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake&oldid=804914804 '' Categories : 1989 earthquakes Earthquakes in California 1989 in California 1989 natural disasters in the United States History of the San Francisco Bay Area History of Oakland, California History of the United States ( 1980 -- 91 ) Geology of Alameda County, California Geology of San Francisco Geology of San Mateo County, California Geology of Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz Mountains 20th century in Oakland, California 1980s tsunamis 1989 Major League Baseball season ABC Sports Oakland Athletics postseason San Francisco Giants postseason World Series games October 1989 events 1989 in San Francisco Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from February 2012 Coordinates on Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Articles with Internet Archive links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Azərbaycanca Català Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 11 October 2017, at 22 : 08. 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Question: when did san francisco last have an earthquake
Answer: The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake