In my house at UC Davis with my roommates and one of their mom's making dinner for the Series. I was convinced it was just heavy traffic and soundly, and correctly ridiculed for the five or so seconds needed to verify the facts.

I would have been on Pacific Coast Highway on my way home from work in Marina Del Rey.

I was a sophomore in HS, I was rushing home to catch game-3 of the World Series, SF Giants vs Oakland A's. I had taken the Muni Metro (SF subway system) to Embarcadero station and was going up the escalator to the street level to catch a bus. The quake struck, the wall panels along the escalator/stairway started to shift against each other, sliding in n'out. The escalator stopped, I turned around to go back down but, remembered I needed to get out and find open space. I ran back up, looking overhead and seeing the skyscrapers looming above, swaying about, dust forming as outer panels attached to the building ground against each other, windows cracking and crashing to the streets below. As I got to the street level, buses were stopped in the middle of the street, overhead trolly and bus lines swung around wildly, people were screaming and running around looking for cover, lots of dust in the air due to building panels grinding against each other.

As things calmed down, it was obvious I was gonna have to walk the 3-miles home. On the way, several office buildings had varying levels of damage, some just had busted windows, jammed doors, buckled sidewalks, others, entire facades/fronts had collapsed, I picked up a piece for a souvenir. Got home, a few board games had fallen off the shelf, the goldfish bowl lost some water and some sheetrock had cracked/buckled, otherwise, minimal damage. Power was out for several nights, zero lighting except for vehicle headlights and flashlights, it was pitch black at night. The glow from the fires in the Marina district glowed bright, as was the heavy burnt smell that hung in the air. We drove around to check on other family members, bringing lanterns and stoves we had for camping/backpacking. Strangers lent a hand to others, helping to direct traffic or, keeping watch around the neighborhoods. I remember we got directed to a nearby Middle School where the Red Cross had set-up food tents for those who hadn't eaten, baseball great and SF native Joe DiMaggio was one of the people in line. It was also the first time I'd ever heard of the government agency FEMA.

I was sitting on my parents couch at our house in Walnut Creek with the pre-game show on. Our dog went under the kitchen table and starting whining at least ten seconds before we felt anything and then it felt like the whole house had been thrown in a paint mixer for about fifteen seconds straight.

Thankfully, my dad had just started a new job in San Jose after working the previous ten years in San Francisco. He would have been driving home via the Bay Bridge if it had occurred just three weeks prior.

Walnut Creek, west bound on Treat Blvd, near the Pleasant Hill BART Station , waiting in the left hand turn lane for the light to turn green and head south on Oak Rd. I lived in a Condo at 2600 Jones Rd. There was no doubt in my mind, none, that people were dying. The water that had been in the swiming pool was splashed on the parking lot. And talk about the Bay Area pull together and get her done now attitude! It only took 25 years or so to replace 1/2 of the Bay Bridge. Much like Senator and President hopeful, Kamela Harris, a gift from Willie Brown

I was at work on the third/top floor of an office building (red X), about 5 miles east from the Bay Bridge section collapse and 1-1/2 miles north from the Cypress Freeway collapse.

As you know, both ends of the Bay Bridge are all land fill. During the quake, the building swayed back and forth like a rocking chair, more than shook. Everybody dove for cover under their desks (“.. and kiss your ass goodbye”). After the quake we listened to a radio and heard about the collapses, fires, and deaths.

I lived in Sausalito at the time. Many coworkers took the San Rafael Bridge to get home. I had to wait until late night to get a phone line to call my family.

It was strange being in Sausalito and looking towards San Francisco and seeing darkness. (Sing along with Journey: "When the lights go down out in the city...")

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Eponym,

quote:

Originally posted by Scott in NCal: It only took 25 years or so to replace 1/2 of the Bay Bridge. Much like Senator and President hopeful, Kamela Harris, a gift from Willie Brown

Not just that, LA's freeways were repaired and replaced after the '94 Northridge quake within a few years. Meanwhile, City of Oakland, Caltrans and various 'special interest' groups in West Oakland were still bickering about replacing the Cypress structure and fixing the Nimitz maze.

Walking off my high school football practice field. A group of cheerleaders practicing a pyramid tumbled. When I got into the locker room the school pool which sat between the boys and girls locker rooms and had 20+ feet of concrete from the lockerroom doors to the pool had splashed up to the doors of the locker room. East San Jose

Don't remember, because I was only 11.

My dad on the other hand was at an HP training class in San Jose and got tossed onto the floor a few times before he got out of his temporary stay apartment. He refused to go back to CA for almost 20 years.

An article about (possibly) early warnings based on the “P waves” that kkina mentioned.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/a...-7e2954ff9b-43423637

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
I was in my first year of law school taking a break and watching game 3 of the World Series when it hit.

Funny, so was I. At night school of University of Miami. Would have been just sitting down to class at that hour. I think Property law.

In the air on the way back to STL from a Tucson TDY. We thought it was turbulence.

I was driving on the onramp to I-80 in Reno starting to merge. Two semi-trucks in the middle lane quickly moved in tandem to the right lane and I had to hit the brakes. I thought it was strange for two semi-trucks moving like that. I had the radio tuned to the world series game and they announced the quake.

I was in my mobile home, on Travis AFB. The base had its own mobile home park t the time.

My wife (at the time) and daughters had gone to visit her mother in Stockton. I had gotten off of work and was settling in to watch the World Series on TV. As the quake started, I was watching the shaking at the game(CBS on channel 10). The news crew came on with their set still shaking, in Sacramento.