Tony, thanks for posting those pictures! Really brings it home. Barbara, I lived on the 13th floor of a UCLA dorm during that 1971 earthquake, and I have to say it was the longest 60 seconds of my life. I thought it would never stop shaking. Our building was constructed to withstand a much larger earthquake, so all we had was a large crack through the granite tiles in the lobby. The aftershocks, however, were nerve wracking.

I live in Aptos, south of Santa Cruz now, and boarded a plane to NYC the morning of Loma Prieta. Guess I got lucky with that one. Some minor damage to our house that our insurance generously covered. Came back to all those aftershocks that managed this time to desensitize me to earthquakes up to M6 (Although, if one hit now, I'd probably jump out of my seat. It's all relative I guess.)

Cathryn