Essay On Loma Prieta Earthquake

In October 1989, a 7.1 earthquake shook central California in Loma Prieta and made its way to Oakland and around the bay area. This earthquake caused billions in damages with 3,800 people injured and left 62 people dead. My mother was living in Oakland at the time and remembers a lot when the earthquake hit. Although my parents were not together at the time of the earthquake my dad also experienced the shake all the way in Novato, California. The aftermath of the earthquake really caused many to refocus on how to rebuild better materials and structures to make operations better for future disasters such as this. Although many firms such as insurers were forced to pay for damages which either did or did not hurt their company. One account of re looking to better utilities would be the water systems and the equipment used so that it can be sturdier. All new utilities were to be rechecked to make sure the equipment is properly usable. Many saw this as a positive case because it …show more content…
Water utilities were one of the problems after the earthquake. They were to maintain close with local electrical power companies in case they had to shutdowns. The Loma Prieta earthquake demonstrated that utilities should be placed in areas where distribution systems had water lines that are vulnerable to damage. The earthquake caused a great deal of damage to water lines in areas of loose soil. However, there was little damage to areas with firmer soil and compacted fill. The water lines were damaged because long runs of pipe were subjected to ground settlement or differential lateral ground motion. The flexibility of the water line connections to the water tank was very important. Utilities should make sure communications and equipment are properly installed to lessen vulnerability to