East Bay Residents Share Their Memories of Loma Prieta

Patch asked readers from around the East Bay to share their memories about the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Here’s what they had to say:

• Lori Cach: I was 5 years old, at home in San Ramon sitting on the living room floor watching tv and eating Mac n cheese when my mom came and swooped me up, taking me into our hall bathroom doorway, where my dad who was in the shower jumped out to join us. I can remember vividly the hall floor looking like liquid. We then went outside into our court where all he neighbors who were home were coming out to check on everyone! Scary!!! And ever since that day I have been deathly afraid of earthquakes!!
• Boo Rhodes: Sitting at the front of the Caldecott tunnel wondering if it was a flat tire. Then we turned on the radio and there were no stations broadcasting.
• Peggy Ann Mohr: I was sitting at a red light I though I was rear ended until I saw the car next to be rocking also.
• Melissa Graham-Alcause: Walking through the front door of my house and being slammed against the door. Thinking I was being pranked. I immediately looked at my mom and saw fear in her eyes and realized it wasn’t a joke.
• Ashley Harding: I was 3 years old pulling a wagon in Springtown. I looked up and a huge tree was swaying back and forth. I thought it was dancing. Lol
• Beth Stark: I lived in livermore and sat on my parents waterbed to order a pizza and realized it was not the waterbed
• Dianne McGowan Duffy: Livermore flagpole...I thought the car had flat tires. The pole was swinging and all the radio stations went off the air all at once. I knew it was big!
• Julianne Golden: Working in San Mateo.....the shelves swayed back and forth. I saw the new Hyatt Regency’s water tower plunge and the brand new hotel structure sway and looked like the leaning tower of Pisa. Drove back to SF and drank margaritas’ with friends. We got married as planned on the 22nd at Stern Grove in SF. I drove back and forth to the airport on and off highway ramps that no longer exist due to structural damage over the next several days.
• Melanie Kemmerer-Hernandez: I was at Las Positas Junior College. It took the Professor about 15 minutes after the earthquake to decide to cancel class. When I got in my car and turned the radio on the first thing I heard was the Bay Bridge fell. WHAT
• Vivien Uranowitz Silber: We were just settling in at home to watch the World Series....our 16 yr old son and his buddies were playing golf at Sunol Golf Club....they thought it was ‘way way cool’ to watch the ground undulate! They didn’t even realize it was an earthquake!
• Kelly Law Seiber: I lived in Tracy when it hot didn’t know how bad it was til we got in the car to grab some fast food cause we had no electricity.
• Sara Michelle Solis: I was 9, playing baseball in my court with neighborhood kids in Union City. I was on 1st, ready to steal 2nd when it all started happening. We all ran to the middle of the court not knowing what to really do. We ducked and covered in the middle of the court. Lol. Then the horrible wait for everyone’s parents to get home began. Scary stuff, but luckily, everyone eventually made it.
• Linda Lane: I had just gotten off work at ValleyCare. Went to put the key in the door of the truck and kept missing the lock. Then I figured out what was happening & held onto the side of the truck till it was over. Then I beat it over to Livermore because I had an 8 month old in daycare.
• Zile Huma Elahi: In Sacramento....young and naive. Just saw our dining room chandelier move little bit for few seconds.
• Luan Ty: I was at James Logan High School in Gymnastics practice. I was in the old gym. I was a freshmen.
• Sandy Nevels: at home getting ready to watch The Brady Bunch. I was 14.
• Doris McKinstry McElvogue: My son pulled me out onto the lawn and we watched our aluminum siding do the WAVE. It just kept going like waves for a long time.
• Ruth Todd: My husband had just started as an engineer at Candlestick Park when the quake hit. Hours later I heard he was safe and had been inspecting the park for structural damage. The thing I remember the most was the weeks of aftershocks that you would feel in bed at night. Made your nerves raw!
• Mary Ann Harcharik Neuman: Standing in my living room in Scott’s Valley, with my 10 month hold daughter crawling around. I felt the first shakes and stood still wondering how long this temblor was going to last. It didn’t take too long to realize this was BIG. My boys (7 & 9) were outside playing in a neighbor’s driveway. We had recently moved from Illinois and they thought this was really cool. Plus, they were excited because they had just made emergency packs in Cub Scouts. The neighbors grouped together outside and shared water and fruit, and someone had a battery operated TV from their RV, so we could see what was happening. I remember being annoyed because the news all focused on SF when we were closer to the epicenter. Between aftershocks people would run inside their houses to grab snacks and other necessities. We had no power or water for 3 days, and Scott’s Valley was cut off from supplies because of the shifting Santa Cruz Mountains.
• Bob Strickell: Working at Lucky. Big mess!
• Jamie Radley: Preparing to watch game three of the Bay Bridge World Series.
• Terri Nichols Cooley: I was working at Otis School for the after school program and remember looking out to the grass field and the field was rolling, so scary.
• Nicholas Polk: I was working at REI helping customers when it hit. Everyone ran outside because the building shook so bad.

Previous:

Fire Chief Says 1989 Quake Catalyst for Nationwide Improvements in Search and Rescue

Recalling When Loma Prieta Interrupted the 1989 World Series ... and What Happened Next

25 Years Since Loma Prieta: Are You Ready for the Next Big Earthquake?

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