Tuesday’s earthquake reminds woman of Loma Prieta earthquake
A 4.7 magnitude earthquake that jolted the Central Coast Tuesday brought the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake back to Karen Sherman’s mind. The Prunedale resident remembers the Loma Prieta earthquake well. It is that terror that led her to make building changes in her home.
“I was shocked because I haven’t felt one in 30 years and it just-I felt a jolt and then back and forth, back and forth,” Sherman said.
A 4.7 earthquake rattled Prunedale resident Karen Sherman’s home Tuesday-a jolt that rocked much of the Central Coast. The shaking reminded Sherman of the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake that hit almost 30 years ago to the day. She was sitting in the same spot on the couch Tuesday as she was when the powerful earthquake hit.
“You thought it wasn’t going to end. It was like boom, boom, boom-everything was swaying. Right here was full of glass. I had a glass cabinet and everything; all the glass came shattering out,” Sherman said.
She says this clock broke during the 1989 quake and still reads 5:04-the time the ground shook.
Sherman told KION that around the time of Loma Prieta she was looking into adding an extension to her home. She still has the blueprints. After the quake, she wanted to make sure the design had earthquake safety in mind. She added stronger metal straps in the roof and foundation to try to protect her home if another earthquake hit.
“That thing was bad-there was no electricity, there was no water there was not tv,” Sherman said recounting the day the earthquake hit. “We were scared. I said oh yeah, put it in, I don’t care. I’ll pay for it.”
After Tuesday’s earthquake, Gerry Malais with the Monterey County Emergency Services said people need to be cautious. It’s possible this could be a foreshock for another larger earthquake.
“Stay vigilant. If you are prepared, stay prepared. If you aren’t prepared. Take that as an early warning to get prepared,” Malais said.
No injuries in Monterey county or infrastructure damage have been reported yet from Tuesday’s quake.
The county is conducting assessments of roads and bridges, but they won’t know until Wednesday if any of those were damaged.
KION 2019
