Overview
- On Oct. 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake killed 63 people, injured thousands, and collapsed sections of I-880 and the Bay Bridge.
- The quake sparked more than 40 fires and caused roughly $6–7 billion in losses, with severe damage in San Francisco’s Marina District built on landfill.
- The Berkeley Seismology Lab now estimates a 72% chance of a magnitude 6.7 or larger Bay Area earthquake by 2044.
- Recent quakes on the Hayward Fault, including a 4.3 near Berkeley on Sept. 22 and subsequent aftershocks, come alongside forecasts placing that fault’s 6.7-plus event probability at 33% by 2043.
- California promotes preparedness through home retrofit grants up to $3,000 and the UC Berkeley–developed MyShake app, which can issue seconds of early warning.