San FranciscoOakland earthquake of 1989

San Francisco–Oakland earthquake of 1989, also called Loma Prieta earthquakeAerial view of the collapsed section of the Bay Bridge following the San Francisco–Oakland earthquake of 1989.C.E. Meyer/U.S. Geological Surveymajor earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S., on October 17, 1989. The strongest earthquake to hit the area since the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, it caused more than 60 deaths, thousands of injuries, and widespread property damage.

Damaged buildings in Santa Cruz, California, following the San Francisco-Oakland earthquake of 1989.C.E. Meyer/U.S. Geological SurveyThe earthquake was triggered by a slip along the San Andreas Fault. Its epicentre was in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, near Loma Prieta peak in the Santa Cruz mountains, northeast of Santa Cruz and approximately 60 miles (100 km) south of San Francisco. It struck just after 5:00 pm local time and lasted approximately 15 seconds, with a moment magnitude of 6.9. The most severe damage was suffered by San Francisco and Oakland, but communities throughout the region, including Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, also were affected. San Francisco’s Marina district was particularly hard hit because it had been built on filled land (comprising loose, sandy soil), and the unreinforced masonry buildings in Santa Cruz (many of which were 50 to 100 years old) failed spectacularly.

