Tag Archives: Disaster Response

“I was One of the Lucky Ones”

Posted on by
Santa Cruz county resident, mental health professional and longtime Red Cross volunteer Jill Hoffman recounts her Loma Prieta earthquake experience 35 years later, including what she’s learned about earthquake safety.
Collapsed roadways were a common sight after the earthquake. Photo credit: U.S.G.S.

“I have been a volunteer in Santa Cruz since 1980 and was part of the Loma  Prieta Earthquake Red Cross response in 1989.

I was at work with clients at 5:01p.m. on Oct. 17, 1989 when the earthquake struck; I though we were being bombed, the noise and shaking were so severe. We were just six miles from epicenter. I remember saying very quietly and calmly “door frame! door frame!” (We know now not to do that, and instead to drop to the floor, cover yourself with something sturdy like a table, and hold on until the shaking stops. Doorways are not any more structurally sound than elsewhere in a building and not a safe place to go to during an earthquake.)

“I though we were being bombed, the noise and shaking were so severe.”

I was one of the lucky ones in that I had no major damage to my home, just books falling off shelves and glass breaking. My boss at the County Mental Halth Services (CMHS) came by about an hour and a half after the earthquake via bicycle instead of her car since the route to my neighborhood was no longer driveable. We immediately joined the team working at a disaster shelter at the Civic Center in downtown Santa Cruz. 

At a Red Cross shelter, residents displaced by the Loma Prieta earthquake sit and talk.

I wore two hats during most of the response: I volunteered at the shelter and did community outreach for Red Cross. Within a few weeks, I assumed the role of the Clinical Mental Health Director for a FEMA grant, a position which was extended to 18 months. We saw 25,000 people during that time. 

In Santa Cruz county, (the epicenter of the earthquake) CMHS led the long term mental health care response, taking over from the Red Cross. FEMA hired six full time and 34 contracted mental health care workers.

A washed out road in Santa Cruz county. Photo credit: U.S.G.S.

I met with the couple I had been seeing that day about five weeks later and they said “Jill! You were so wonderful, you were yelling at the top of your lungs “Door frame! Door frame!” So much for my perception of the event at the time.

When we had an aftershock 6 months later I had I had the flight vs. fight response and bolted out of my chair at a restaurant and stared running before my colleague stopped me.”

Thank you, Jill, for sharing your story, your service then, and your continued service now. To learn more about disaster preparedness, including how to be prepared for an earthquake, visit redcross.org/prepare.

The Enormity of the Situation

Posted on by

Thirty-five years later, a Red Cross volunteer recalls his experience during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Red Cross volunteer photographer Larry Brazil remembers where he was during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, 35 years ago today. The 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Northern California, with the Bay Area and Central Coast bearing the brunt of the impact. The epicenter was approximately eight miles north-northeast of Santa Cruz and 50 miles from downtown San Francisco. The quake lasted 15 seconds and struck during the peak of evening rush hour. The resulting catastrophic damage and loss of life forever changed the landscape, infrastructure and people of the Golden State. Sixty-six people lost their lives, 2,400 were injured and more than 10,000 homes were left uninhabitable. Larry shares what that fateful day was like, and what happened next:

The aftermath of the Bay Bridge following the earthquake. Photo credit: U.S.G.S.

“October 17,1989 was going to be a special day. Little did I know how memorable that day would end up being. It was special because a friend and I had tickets to Game 3 of the World Series that evening. We got to the game early and had a little tailgate party. We were just getting ready to head into the game when all of a sudden, time seemed to stand still, but the earth surely wasn’t standing still! The parking lot was literally rolling in waves. Cars were swaying back and forth, up and down, with their tires almost coming off the ground. It seemed to last for a long time, but it was probably about 15 seconds. When the shaking stopped, there was a loud roar from inside the stadium. We didn’t yet know the extent of damage and thought that the game would proceed after a delay. While trying to get into the stadium, someone had a little TV and we saw that the Bay Bridge had collapsed. It really sunk in then.

The Bay Bridge was our way home, and we knew we were in for a long night. The only way back home to Pleasanton was to go all the way around the Bay as the other bridges were closed for damage inspection. It took 9 hours to get home at 3a.m. We were transfixed by the images we saw of the widespread devastation. That was our first glimpse into the enormity of the situation.

“The next few days were a blur; it was not business as usual. We were pretty much glued to the TV, watching the drama unfold on the Cypress Freeway collapse and Marina fires.”

The bi-level Cypress Freeway, collapsed onto itself, was a sobering reminder of the quake’s intensity. Photo credit: U.S.G.S.

I was a member of a professional photographers group, the Peninsula Advertising Photographers Association. The Red Cross had reached out to our group looking for photographers to document the recovery efforts. I and two other photographers volunteered; I spent the next couple of days photographing Red Cross recovery efforts, mostly in Santa Cruz county.

I was with them day and night; at night we went out to highway workers in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Highway 17 offering them coffee, snacks, and moral support. During the day I photographed the shelter at the county fairgrounds in Watsonville. I was able to document the many services the Red Cross provided as well as much of the physical damage to the earth and buildings. I was grateful that I was able to contribute in some small way to the recovery efforts.

Landslides and destroyed roads were a common sight near Santa Crus. Photo credit: U.S.G.S.

 It took another crisis time (the pandemic) for me to get involved again with the Red Cross. After being laid off due to COVID, I joined Blood Services team as a transportation specialist. I have delivered blood all over the greater Bay Area for the past four years. I have transitioned to doing some sheltering and logistics work in addition to my blood deliveries. I have recently joined the Red Cross communications team and look forward to once again providing the Red Cross with timely photos.”

Thank you for sharing your story and your service, Larry! To learn more about disaster preparedness, including earthquake preparedness, visit redcross.org/prepare.

Loma Prieta Earthquake: “This disaster was a wake-up call for all emergency response organizations.”

Posted on by

Mary H. Lee, Red Cross Disaster Health Services Volunteer, shared her memories of the Loma Prieta Earthquake.

A Red Cross pin, the perfect way of thanking all the dedicated volunteers who helped during the Earthquake Disaster Relief Operation
Photo courtesy of Mary H. Lee

“As we were standing outside our newly renovated home in Belmont on October 17, 1989 at 5 pm, we shook hands with  our contractor to thank him for a job well done. Moments later the ground shook under us. We looked at our house and smiled as it was still standing. At that time little did we know of the severity of the earthquake.  

Late that evening I was called in by the San Mateo Red Cross Chapter to staff a shelter as Disaster Health Service (DHS) Nurse. It was eerie to drive down a darkened highway 101 with no cars on the road to the shelter located in a hotel in Burlingame. The people in the hotel shelter were a tour group that had their trip interrupted. It was a very quiet night. 

Read more

The Bridge to Hope and Help: Meet Kane Wong, Bay Area Chapter’s Clara Barton Award Recipient

Posted on by

By Jill Feldon and Martin Gagliano

Photo courtesy of Kane Wong

A fire broke out in a multi-family, 38-unit apartment complex in Oakland, leaving the building uninhabitable and its residents displaced. Most didn’t speak English and desperately needed assistance. While a temporary shelter was available for a couple of nights, the fire caused such extensive damage that it would take months of repairs before the families could move back in.

Kane Wong and his American Red Cross team called many potential shelters and arranged for a church in the neighborhood to provide shelter for the affected individuals for an extended period of time. “We also arranged for a translator, feeding and other assistance from our partners,” he said. “It’s great to make things happen, lessening client anxiety and misery.” Kane also commented that the church thanked the Red Cross for allowing them to participate in the relief efforts. This collaboration furthers the church’s goals to support the community.

Read more

Greedy Good Work 

Posted on by

In 2022, Jesse Kilgore was serving in the U.S. Army in Germany when he got an unexpected call. Thanks to the smart thinking of his sister – who is also a veteran – and the American Red Cross’ emergency communication service, Jesse learned that his father was dying.  He needed to get to Los Angeles right away so he could say goodbye.  

But Jesse didn’t have the money to fly halfway across the world. So once again the American Red Cross came through. Jesse was gifted with the cost to fly to LA just before his father passed away. 

That experience inspired Jesse to pay back the Red Cross “not with money, but with my own labor,” Jesse said. He signed up to help the Red Cross with disaster services. Communities and families depend on the Red Cross and its volunteers to provide comfort and support following a disaster such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes by opening shelters, providing warm meals, offering critical financial help and supporting them through the recovery phase among other services.  

Read more

Red Cross Memories of the Maui Wildfires: Finding Meaning and Solutions after a Disaster 

Posted on by

Reflections, One Year Later 

One August morning in 2023, Katie “Sully” Sullivan awoke to the first news segments about the Maui wildfires. An experienced American Red Cross Disaster Program Manager for Alameda County, she soon realized things were going to get bad. Later, the phone rang. It was American Red Cross national headquarters asking her to deploy. “Over the six years I’ve been with the Red Cross, I’ve seen the aftermath of large-scale disasters, from hurricanes to tornadoes to floods. Each brought unique challenges,” she recently said when remembering the disaster nearly a year later. But for Sully, this one stood out.  

Hurricane Dora crashing into Maui’s tinder-dry foliage on August 8, 2023, meant there was little warning for what would become the worst natural disaster in the archipelago’s recorded history. The result: the historic district of Lahaina was virtually vaporized—as were sections of Palehu and the smaller Upcountry community of Kula—causing approximately 100 fatalities. A year later, the effort to heal and rebuild is still underway.  

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »