House in Los Gatos damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
On this day 35 years ago, the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake rocked Los Gatos and the larger Bay Area, causing widespread damage. To recognize this milestone anniversary, NUMU is collecting memories and remembrances from our Los Gatos community about this monumental event; below are your stories.
Geraldine Peters, Los Gatos resident, daughter of Billy and Geraldine Jones:
The P.M. shift of Medical Records was just settling in for work. Another routine evening, Susan had her Walkman in use as she wanted to hear how the World Series game was going at Candlestick Park. The rest of us went about our different jobs.
All of a sudden at 5:07 our building began to roll violently. Lights went off, then another smaller roll. Someone yelled “earthquake!” Most of us were under our desks. Boy, did I crawl away from the plate glass window located just to the rear of me. Being under the desk felt just fine. A few more shocks, and I know all of us were scared to death. Was this the big one? Was this it? How far and wide was this tremblor? There was no more movement, so I gingerly crawled out of my desk cave. Was this the end of California? Barbara found her portable radio, so all of us could listen and not have Susan sign language what she heard. What I heard was that San Francisco was on fire, part of the Bay Bridge had collapsed into the Bay. The news sounded catastrophic. I was later to learn that this was just the tip of the iceberg in damage. I wanted to get home. Was my house okay? Yet the radio said not to drive on the main roads or freeways as the emergency vehicles needed free use of them. Well, if I needed to stay here I wanted something to do to keep my mind from worrying.
Our supervisor, Mimi, asked for three volunteers to help in the ER. I called out fast “take me.” This was a chance to see how our practice in the emergency drill worked, only this was the real thing.
The walk down the dark hall was spooky. The ER was lighted as the emergency generator was activated. My job was to ask the entering patients if they had ever been a patient at O’Connor Hospital and if so, when. This information was written on a card with their name and tied to their wrist. I felt like I was on TV, watching “General Hospital” and I was an actor. By this time, many of the staff doctors had returned to help assist the overwhelmed ER staff. As each doctor entered, all of us were eager to hear what news they had. Oh, there were so many different conflicting stores.
At first, the patients’ fright was contagious. Ambulance sirens were screaming nearby, but panic was not needed. The nurses calmed everyone down. “Do your job and work quickly and quietly” they said. A few patients were bloody and hysterical. A nurse usually took those patients into a private room and cared for them there. We three did our jobs and the doctors and nurses went about their tasks quickly and quietly. With so many doctors available the patients were quickly discharged. I recall a few broken bones and cuts and bruises. Most of the patients were coming from Valley Fair Mall.
Around 6:30 huge trays of sandwiches, fruit and canned drinks arrived from the cafeteria. The food tasted so good. How wonderful of the dining room crew to prepare this food. They must have been as scared as I, and they wanted to get to their homes to see if their families were safe, yet they did their job.
Around 8 p.m. the ER was quiet and I was able to leave. I really wanted to get home. The night was so dark; the ride home was eerie. Valley Fair was in total darkness. No signal lights were working, and no house lights were on: just total darkness.
The first thing I saw as I turned left onto Winchester Blvd. was a man guiding me with his flashlight. The few drivers were so courteous and kind. I was amazed. I drove slowly, and at each intersection there were other men with flashlights guiding us on our way. I was glad to be on my way home to Los Gatos. After ten years, I can still recall how black this area was on that night. What a relief to turn onto Daves Avenue. I first stopped at my good neighbors’ house, and their house was lighted. Ace knew I was scared, so he went home with me. I was scared of gas leaks, fire or house damage. There was no damage at all, only a lamp on the floor… and to have electricity as well! After Ace left, I sat down and watched the earthquake damage on TV, the Marina fires, the collapse of the Cypress Freeway with so many people trapped in their cars. Then the next day disaster reports began filtering in about damage in the Santa Cruz Mountains and also to downtown Los Gatos. The Loma Prieta Fault sure did a tremendous amount of damage as there was a new fault going from east to west in the older part of town. Houses were knocked off their foundations and some homes collapsed. I was amazed when I walked to town a few days later. The damage was awful. I just wanted to cry for those who had lost so much. A good friend lost her home, and two days later her husband died of a heart attack, probably due to the earthquake.
I will always be grateful to have been spared the wrath of Mother Nature. I do have an emergency food supply, water, and flashlight, and I know where to find my sleeping bag.
