quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
^^How did you cross the Bay with the bridge collapsed?

The radio station was broadcasting from the bridge.

I was on south 880 in the Fremont area.

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

quote:

Originally posted by icom706:
Turned on the TV for the World Series and started dinner as I just got home. Then it started shaking.

Same here except we felt a tremble in the force booting a couple hassles clinking together

I was at home about 20 miles from the epicenter getting ready to go to paintball with family from Indiana. We had minimal damage, was actually kind of fun.

I was in my parents bathroom filling a squirt bottle to ambush my cousin who was snoozing on the couch when the windows started to rattle. My first thought was, “oh cool, an earthquake.” Then it got pretty woolly. I was able to look outside from the bathroom and see the trees swaying and the power poles dancing. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied my parents waterbed sloshing back and forth almost breaking over the edge towards me in the doorway. I ducked behind the wall in case the water mattress crested.

My cousin’s friend was there also, and that was his first ever earthquake. Scared the crap out of him. He went through his cigarettes pretty quickly, so we had to go buy some more. We piled into my car and went to the nearest liquor store. When we got there and opened the car doors, we could smell all of the booze. The poor store was just a wreck, bottles and booze everywhere. My cousin’s friend tip-toed in and got his cigarettes and we headed home. Since the power was out, we were really impressed with how civilized all of the drivers were at the intersections.

We got home and our street pretty much had a neighborhood BBQ while watching the news from a neighbor’s portable TV.

At home, 60 miles north of San Francisco. When it hit, I had just stood up from the dining room table. I thought I was dizzy from standing too quickly but realized it was an earthquake when one side of the house lifted up and slammed down twice. I also noticed all the light fixtures were swaying. Ran out of the house just as it stopped. I was 16.

Reno in a convention hall at a trade show. Felt it there sounded like a big AC unit running roof vibrating.

I was at football practice. I didn’t even know it happened until I had gotten in my car to drive home and turned to the local AM sports radio station expecting to listen to some of the World Series while I sat on 95 south

We were relocating to the Bay Area. My wife was in our apartment in San Jose and I was traveling. I had the chance to stay with her parents that night in Northern Illinois.

I was watching the game with her family and the announcer mentioned the earthquake.

I flew home the next morning. Think I had to go ORD to Dallas to Salt Lake to SFO. The apartment was a total mess. The chandelier swung so hard it dented several places on the ceiling. Large chest of drawers knocked over, no pictures on the wall, dishes thrown out of the cupboards onto the floor.

Many of the folks who lived there camped out by the pool, afraid to stay in the building because of the after-shocks.

To this day she doesn't like to stop in traffic under a bridge.

I was at work in the FL panhandle. But my sister lived in the Marina District in Frisco at the time. Took days before we could reach her. She took a sleeping bag and camped out with a friend in South SF for a while. Marina District got hit pretty hard.

I was in an elevator on the 5th floor of a building trying to go to the ground floor. The car momentarily stopped between the 3rd and 4th floor, and I heard what I beleive to be the cables holding the car slapping together. For what seemed like an eternity, I watched the light indicating floor level, praying it would start to show me going down again. Then the car began to shake back and forth, and move down the shaft. When it came to the ground floor, the door miraculously opened, and I dove under a heavy oak table in the foyer. When I came out from under the table, and older lady who was an admin asst. came out of her office, grabbed my arm and said, "I'll never work late again!" I went outside the building and asked the guard what happened, he told me he saw cars bouncing 6" in the air, and it must have been an earthquake. At the time, I thought it must have been centered close to where I was, not realizing the size and extent of the earthquake until I got home, and my mother called me to ask if I was alright.

I had been in San Francisco on that day and crossed the Bay Bridge at about 3:30 to get home to the East Bay. I had been home for a hour and a half when a decently big jolt hit and some small liquor bottles in my room fell over. The shaking went on a pretty long time, and I noticed the apple tree leaves and branches outside my window vibrating and thought, "That's impressive." I didn't think it was THAT big a deal until I saw the news later and was like, "Whoa, no way!"

I remember it but I'm not sure where I was.
3 years out of high school when it happened.

I was a Petty Officer 2nd Class at HSL-47, NAS North Island San Diego. At 1704 I was watching the World Series pre-game

I was in Boot Camp in San Diego and didn't know it went down until the DI came in to talk to one of the recruits that was from SF. Sunday we got to read the paper and see the damage.

I was in college here in CO and some friends from the East were in town. We were at a local establishment enjoying 10 cent peel and eat shrimp and drinking beer by the half yard when the news came over the TV in the bar.

In College Station, probably set to watch the World Series or partying with other aggies!

I was in the kitchen, giving my 5 month old a bath.
The TV in the family room was tuned in for the game, and I could hear Al Michaels and Tim McCarver yakking during the pregame show.

I was at a Pensacola sports bar & grill with wife & kids to watch the series. All the players & staff were out on the field. Thought "That's strange". Years later played a lot of golf with Greg Litton of the Giants, who hit a homer in the last game.

sitting in an apt. in north L.A. county waiting for the game to start.

thinking to my self,
geez , I am glad that will never happen here ,
I'd be wigging out.

then five short years later on Jan 17th , 1994
just 14 miles away
the northridge quake hit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...orthridge_earthquake

6.7 magnitude

I was living in the far western burbs of Chicago and was prepping dinner. I had the WS pregame on TV in the background. The endless previous game analysis droning on and then the famous Al Michaels quote grabbed my attention. Then the ABC graphic is on the screen.