Shake it Off in 1989 By John R. Fisher For Geo Sc 001 magazine

Damaged buildings in Santa Cruz, , following the -Oakland earthquake of 1989. (Britannica)

As many of you may know, this fall was marked by the release of the hit song Shake it Off by

Taylor Swift on her new album 1989. However, this fall also represents the 25th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. Now was Taylor Swift referencing this famous earthquake in her new hit single? Probably not considering she was not even born until about 2 months after this earthquake occurred and she was born on the opposite side of the country. For those of you that thought this article was about Taylor Swift, I apologize. I am sure you can go to the magazine section at any store or even just wait in line at the grocery store to find hundreds of articles about Taylor Swift. This article will focus primarily on the effects of the Loma Prieta earthquake on the California bay area.

The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 struck at approximately 5:00pm on October 17, 1989. This

6.9 magnitude earthquake was responsible for 63 deaths and nearly 3800 injuries. (Earthquakes)

Though this earthquake only lasted 10-15 seconds, it left nearly 15,000 people homeless.

(Earthquake) This earthquake was a result of a slip in the infamous San Andreas Fault. (Earthquake) According to the article San Francisco-Oakland Earthquake of 1989 written in

Britannica, This earthquake was “(t)he strongest earthquake to hit the area since the San

Francisco earthquake of 1906…”

The Cypress Street Viaduct (Earthquake) and The San Francisco-Oakland bay bridge (Historic)

The highest number of fatalities occurred in Oakland due to the collapse of a double-deck highway system. The Cypress Street Viaduct, Interstate 880, collapsed, crushing the cars and people on the lower portion of the freeway. A 50 foot section of the San Francisco-Oakland bay bridge also collapsed leading to one fatality. (Earthquake) One stretch of road on State Highway

17 was closed for about a month due to a mudslide caused by the earthquake. The earthquake was responsible for nearly $1.8 billion in transportation costs. (Historic)

Liquefaction, a process where unstable soil is tuned into slush, caused damage to numerous buildings in the San Francisco Marina District (Earthquakes). This occurred as far as 110 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake. More recent buildings with specific engineering designs for earthquakes withstood damage quite well. Most hospitals and schools in the area also sustained little to no damage. The buildings that failed with the highest frequency were those constructed with wooden frames and brick walls that were not reinforced. (Historic)

Candlestick Park during “Earthquake Series” (Shaffer) One of the more interesting side stories of this earthquake was the highly anticipated World

Series between the and the . There were nearly 63,000 fans packed inside of Candlestick Park in San Francisco when the earthquake struck approximately 25 minutes before first pitch. The earthquake caused Candlestick Park to lose power leading to the delay of the first in Candlestick in 27 years. The World Series ended up being delayed 10 days. This series became known as the Earthquake Series.

(Weinberg)

Due to the location of this earthquake along the San Andreas Fault, an earthquake of this magnitude is very likely to affect the bay area sometime in the future. According to the Southern

California Earthquake Center, California has a 99.7% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the next 30 years while the has a 63% chance.

Residents of these areas need to be prepared at any time for a large earthquake. With each new engineering feat for highways and buildings, this area can become a safer place for its residents.

Works Cited

"Earthquake Loma Prieta California 1989." Earthquake Loma Prieta California 1989. Web. 20

Nov. 2014.

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"Earthquakes--Loma Prieta--Forces of Nature--Science, Maps, Photos, Video (National

Geographic)." Earthquakes--Loma Prieta--Forces of Nature--Science, Maps, Photos,

Video (National Geographic). National Geographic. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

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"Historic Earthquakes." USGS. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

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Shaffer, Scott. "Inside Candlestick Park on the Night the Earth Shook." KQED News. 20 Dec.

2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

loma-prieta-earthquake>.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "San Francisco-Oakland Earthquake of 1989."

Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

earthquake-of-1989>.

"Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF)." Southern California Earthquake

Center. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. .

Weinberg, Rick. "26: World Series Halted by Bay Area Earthquake." ESPN. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

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