Memories and Lessons from the San Francisco Earthquake
Some of this blog was inspired by a post to a Survival list I am on. The original poster was asking about urban survival in bad situations and I shared some my experience in the San Francisco earthquake of 1989. I have been in several similar situations (hence the family nickname of Disaster Cat) but I think I learned the most from this particular earth quake. In future blogs, I may share comments on other Disasters I have known (mostly natural, a few man-made), but I thought I would start with this one. If other people would like to post comments, or share their own experiences (here or in their own blog pages) that would be great. Since in these very stressful times, I think that looking at how people have dealt with unexpected events can be both useful and a form of stress relief. Even though its been years since this earth quake, I still dream about it sometimes. Things can get burned in the brain. I think its nature's way of making sure we remember it for next time. ...
Now while I have been Disaster Cat for years, I started really getting serious about how to prepare for them, when I found myself in the middle of the UN Plaza during the 1989 San Francisco Earth Quake. While it was an a terrifying experience it turned out that I was in the best place to be in the entire city, completely by accident! I was talking to friends at the AIDS vigil (a sort of early 90's protest camp-out in front of the federal building) when the earthquake hit. One plus was that we were all in the middle of a large open space, always a good idea when an earthquake is happening. But why was it such a good place afterwords?
Why? Because The Vigil was a self-contained campsite, with tents, chairs, gas burner and water. So,not only did I have a reasonably safe place to sit tight, with tents to sleep in. I soon discovered that we were rich...while business people in suits were slapping bank machines that wouldn't work, we were quietly brewing coffee. As darkness fell, many local people (especially single women) came out of their earthquake damaged apartments to come and sit with us. We lit oil lamps and candles. Then the men from the local homeless camp came by and asked former military vets (and other interested parties) to help form safety patrols for both locations. Children, pregnant women and the vulnerable elderly were quietly sorted out, in case we had to stretch our limited supply of canned food to its best advantage (thankfully we didn't need to do this). It was a wonderful case of people suddenly banding together in a crisis situation. And made possible because by accident (rather than design) we had nearly everything the average person could want in a crisis situation, at least for a short period of time. Water, shelter, light and heat, along with a small amount of food.
Because we were many, I was able to get an escort to the pay phone and call home, as well as having company to sit up with all night. A funny side note, one of the things The Vigil did was give away free condoms to anyone who asked for them. Whatever you think of this practice, it was amusing that after about two hours we were rationing them; and by midnight we were sending away mournful looking young couples back to their darkened apartments without them (we were cleaned out!). I hope there were not too many babies born nine months later as a result. In the morning I was still sitting at the front desk and I can tell you it was the best sunrise I have ever experienced. There is something about seeing a new day that brings hope, at least it did for me and I am not usually a morning person....
Things I learned from this experience, in a real emergency, having a stove with hot water and tea is better than a hundred dollars in your pocket (which I had because I had been about to go grocery shopping, but they were useless). By 10pm the police patrols were asking us for cups of coffee (we gave it to them).
Radios are a must. We only had one, and the young teenager who had it had walked off with it in a huff when The Series Game was canceled. Older Adults had to sweet talk him into bringing it back. That was the only way we knew that the Marina was on fire (don't go there) the Bay Bridge was out (don't go there either) and the next morning that the subway was up and running (I can go home now).
But one of the most powerful memories of the entire experience (besides watching Greek Columns sway back and forth like windblown leaves) was watching well dressed people walking around stunned. Holding their ATM cards and not having a clue what to do next. Right then and there I decided that I never wanted to be one of those people. If I could help it...
And since then I have been looking at various ways to prepare for varies types of situations. Sure, there are some situations you just can't do anything about. But many disasters (large and small) can be more endurable if you have some materials to help cope. That goes for anything from a bandied for a cut to a months supply of canned food stashed under the bed. What you prepare for, will vary with where you live, the size of your family, your budget etc. But its a good idea to at least take a day or two to study what you have at home (in your car, at your workplace) and play the "what if?" game. If you don't like the "ifs" it might be worth a trip to the pharmacy or grocery store to pick up a few things.
And remember the radio...as I yelled to my mom last time I visited the Disaster Cat Category 5 tornado went over the house, "WHAT, you mean you live in the climate and you don't have a battery operation radio?"...she does now...*grin*
Stay Tuned for the Further Adventures of Disaster Cat...