| What
a crazy October. It's been warm, sunny and dry. Though it sounds
like typical Californian weather, 91 degrees driving across the
Bay Bridge in the evening is far from typical. In fact, it's
been cooler in the East Bay! To add to this unique year,
multiple tremors and small earthquakes have hit the Bay Area,
and as a Californian, that only means one thing - earthquake
season.
Earlier in the
month, I had my hopes up for a repeat Bay Area World Series: San
Francisco Giants vs. Oakland Athletics. The last Bay Area World
Series battle happened in 1989, 14 years ago, when the 7.1
magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake tore up Northern California and
interrupted the game at Candlestick Park. Since then, the
ballpark has moved and has changed its name twice. Though the
earthquake rumbled for 15 seconds, it caused over $6 billion
dollars of immediate damage. I recall vivid images of the San
Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge roadway falling - it was like a
scene out of a Hollywood movie.
When the
earthquake hit that early evening, I was in a local pet store
with my mom. We were shopping for goldfish but the birds were
getting all the attention as they were restless in their cages
and making a lot of noise. The ground started waving, causing me to lose my balance. I could audibly hear the earth
rumbling, experiencing nature overpowering the environment like
never before. People were running and flailing their arms.
15 seconds felt like a surreal minute. It's quite easy to forget that we
live in an active Earthquake environment; in the East Bay, the fault line
is visible right off of Highway 24 outside of the Caldecott
Tunnel.
- Wilson, October 27, 2003 |
