Last week, our friends at the Guided By History blog recounted some of their stories about the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
The 20th anniversary of this disaster just passed, on Saturday, October 17.
I didn't live in San Francisco in 1989, but I did from 1998-2000, where I experienced my share of small quakes. One fall morning in my tiny Noe Valley
studio, I was attempting to open a stuck dresser drawer. Just as I yanked it open, I noticed that my glass closet doors were shaking. I thought to myself, "I didn't pull it THAT hard!" Then I turned around and saw that the rest of my apartment also was moving — and realized I was in the middle of my first earthquake.
At that point in my life, I wasn't prepared for an earthquake. I didn't know that I should move into a doorway or underneath a sturdy piece of furniture. I hadn't assembled an earthquake kit. I'm a Midwesterner! Give me a tornado or a severe thunderstorm, no problem, but an earthquake? No idea what to do.
If you're in the same boat as I was back then, the Bay Area Chapter of the American Red Cross
has put together a series of preparedness webisodes
for young adults that can help you make a communication plan with friends and family, put together a disaster survival kit, and more. It's good stuff.
Check it out and be prepared!





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