By Katie Dowd,

This week, dozens of earthquakes — most small but a few big enough to give locals a jolt — rattled the Bay Area and Central California. It's quite the coincidence: Thursday marks the 30th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake.

At 5:04 p.m. on Oct. 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake erupted along a section of the San Andreas Fault in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Game 3 of the World Series was just about to start between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's at Candlestick Park; it turned out to be a fortuitous event. Later, it was speculated that the lighter-than-usual rush hour traffic on Bay Area roads was due to many locals leaving work early or partaking in viewing parties.

Even with lighter traffic, thousands were injured, many on collapsed roads and highways. Forty-two people died when the Cypress Street Viaduct on 880 collapsed, crushing people in their cars. One woman also died when a 50-foot section of the Bay Bridge collapsed down.

In total, 63 people died as a result of the quake. Damage was estimated at close to $12 billion in today's money.

To see photos of the Loma Prieta earthquake and its aftermath, see the gallery above.
More Loma Prieta anniversary coverage

What do seismologists do to prepare for the Big One?

A first-person account of the long walk home after Loma Prieta

How to make your own earthquake preparedness kit

Here

https://www.sfgate.com/earthquakes/article/loma-prieta-san-francisco-bay-area-photos-14538677.php

also see

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/For-those-who-lived-through-it-the-1989-Loma-14537219.php