—INTRO—
(00:00 Fade in earthquake noises — deep rumbling, cups and plates tinkling, buildings crumbling)
(00:15)
VO
IT LASTED JUST EIGHT TO FIFTEEN SECONDS — THE SIX-POINT-NINE-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE THAT STRUCK THE SAN FRANCISCO AND MONTEREY BAY AREAS ON OCTOBER SEVENTEENTH, NINETEEN-EIGHTY-NINE.
—PKG—
(00:27)
VO
IT WAS FIVE-OH-FOUR P-M PACIFIC TIME — A TUESDAY — LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR BEFORE THE MOMENT CALIFORNIA BASEBALL FANS HAD BEEN WAITING FOR WAS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN.
(00:37 Baseball cracking wooden bat, fans cheering)
THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS AND SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS WERE ABOUT TO FACE OFF IN GAME THREE OF THE WORLD SERIES AT FIVE-THIRTY.
(00:46 Fade in game announcer)
THE GIANTS HAD THE HOME-TEAM ADVANTAGE AT CANDLESTICK PARK.
BUT THEY NEVER GOT TO PLAY BALL THAT NIGHT.
(00:54 Announcer cuts off, people start screaming)
(01:06 Earthquake sounds continue)
WHAT BECAME NICKNAMED THE “WORLD SERIES EARTHQUAKE” WAS THE LARGEST TO RATTLE THE REGION SINCE THE MAGNITUDE SEVEN-POINT-NINE GREAT SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE OF NINETEEN-OH-SIX, ACCORDING TO THE U-S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
THE BRANCH OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ESTIMATES THE QUAKE TRIGGERED BETWEEN SIX-BILLION AND TEN-BILLION DOLLARS IN PROPERTY DAMAGE.
HISTORY.COM REPORTS THAT NEARLY SEVENTY PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THE ‘EIGHTY-NINE QUAKE AND MORE THAN THREE-THOUSAND WERE INJURED.
(01:37 News clips discuss quake)
(01:53)
THE TREMOR IS MORE COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE, AS ITS EPICENTER WAS RECORDED NEAR LOMA PRIETA PEAK IN THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS.
(02:02 Crumbling noises)
ACCORDING TO THE U-S-G-S’ DID YOU FEEL IT? PROJECT, WITNESSES REPORT THE QUAKE WAS FELT AS FAR AWAY AS ROUGHLY THREE-HUNDRED MILES SOUTH.
(02:12 Fade in music)
THOUGH DEVASTATING, THE LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE WASN’T UNEXPECTED.
IN A NINETEEN-NINETY-EIGHT U-S-G-S REPORT, AUTHOR RUTH A. HARRIS WROTE:
“… this earthquake had been forecasted by many groups, in varying ways and with varying degrees of success and accuracy, during the eight decades that preceded it.”
(02:33 Emergency chatter; music continues)
STAFF AT THE TRIBUNE IN OAKLAND CAPTURED THE QUAKE’S DEVASTATION IN PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WENT ON TO WIN THE NINETEEN-NINETY PULITZER PRIZE IN SPOT NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY.
ONE STANDS OUT.
IT’S A BLACK-AND-WHITE IMAGE OF A SHATTERED OVERPASS, THE ASPHALT BUCKLING TOWARD THE VIEWER AND GUARDRAIL SNAKING INTO THE BACKGROUND.
THERE ARE NO PEOPLE VISIBLE — JUST ONE CAR WITH ITS HOOD POPPED.
PLUMES OF THICK SMOKE BALLOON INTO A COLORLESS SKY.
THE PHOTOGRAPH IS NEARLY ALL CRUMBLED ROAD, WITH JUST A PEEK AT WHAT APPEAR TO BE BUILDINGS IN THE DISTANCE — OR WHAT’S LEFT OF THEM.
IT’S THE UNSEEN DAMAGE BEYOND THAT IS PERHAPS THE MOST UNSETTLING.
(03:14 Emergency chatter and music continue)
—CREDITS—
(03:18)
VO
EARTHQUAKE STATISTICS MENTIONED IN THIS RECORDING WERE OBTAINED FROM THE U-S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND HISTORY-DOT-COM.
I ALSO REFERRED TO “PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM THE LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE,” A NINETEEN-NINETY-FOUR REPORT COMPILED BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, AND U-S-G-S PROFESSIONAL PAPER FIFTEEN-FIFTY-B BY RUTH A. HARRIS.
ALL MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS PODCAST IS COURTESY OF PURPLE PLANET MUSIC, AVAILABLE FOR FREE AT PURPLE-DASH-PLANET-DOT-COM.
COMPLIMENTARY SOUND EFFECTS WERE PROVIDED BY FREESOUND, FOUND AT FREESOUND-DOT-ORG.
HISTORICAL SCENE AUDIO WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION.
REPORTING FROM LOS ANGELES FOR AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, I’M LINDSEY LEAKE.
(TRT 04:01 Fade out music)
_______
This audio story was written and produced for Lindsey Leake’s COMM 620 Topics in Mass Media: Audio Storytelling course at the American University School of Communication on Nov. 21, 2018.