konstan@postgres.berkeley.edu (Joe Konstan) (10/24/89)
This is a bit late, since I flew out of SFO Thursday, returning only
this afternoon (Monday). I will focus predominantly on
Telecom-related issues, though I'd like to update a few remarks made
by others in prior submissions.
1. I was at my office in the CS Division at UCB when the quake
happened. Most computers here were never down; the building shook; but
it stood. Someone in the next office had a small TV (we did not lose
power) and we watched the coverage for a while as the TV stations came
on the air. One thing I noticed was that TV reception was MUCH BETTER
THAN USUAL, I speculate that this could be because the Twin Peaks (SF)
transmission tower was not usable, so those of us in the East Bay
received only an Oakland broadcast, rather than two transmissions.
2. One thing I haven't seen mentioned here was the continuous reference
made by the TV anchors to the phone book. Earthquake emergency information
is printed in all the Pac Bell phone books I've seen, and was a quick source
of information.
3. From UCB, I phoned a number of places. I called my fiancee (about two
miles away, in Berkeley). I needed an average of 3-4 tries per completion,
with some calls getting reorder, others "circuits busy." The first time I
got a ring, I realized that power was out (our answering machine did not
pick up). Later that evening (about 11pm) we found out that our power was
back on by calling the answering machine again. Useful machine.
I found I was able to place calls much more effectively than
others in the area (University Centrex? 415-642-xxxx). As a result, I
relayed messages out of the area for many people. I was able to reach NY,
Sacramento, Davis, and most of the Bay Area except for SF itself pretty
consistently. In all cases, I was relaying quick "your family is fine"
messages since most of the people I spoke with had trouble calling out.
(My own guess is that many had never had to wait for dial tone, plus the
fact that few people stayed at the University, so our exchange was
relatively free).
4. My grandmother (in Washington D.C.) managed to get through to my home
just minutes after the quake. This was the last call in from outside the
area that we received for many hours, but she was able to tell everyone
that we were fine.
As a side note, I agree with what AT&T did. The one exception to the
"If I need help, I'll call" is the case of a person living alone who might
not be able to get to a phone. I think this can be handled as a special
case or locally. BTW, why doesn't AT&T retain "disaster authority" over
its lines, to prevent resellers from mishandling the situation and from
using capacity that AT&T customers could use?
5. Note that at all times, even with blackouts in Berkeley a few miles
from the I-880 collapse and the Bay Bridge, the phones worked. In a
previous local blackout, our phone was the only source of light we could
easily find (used it to find candles). This time we were better prepared,
but the reliability of the phones always amaze me.
6. The death count Patrick cited seems to be overly high (not his fault,
that was the best knowledge at the time). At present, under 60 are confirmed
dead, with expectations around 100-150. All-in-all, we were very lucky,
especially for the fact that the quake struck before dark.
7. TV coverage (not quite telecom, but related) really helped get the
nation aware. The fact that this occurred during the World Series created
a tremendous instant awareness, and that led to a great deal of aid. I
feel sorry for the other disasters which are not being given the great press
coverage (apparently another huricane or tropical storm, according to
Nightline), but am grateful for the help we are getting.
8. Two quick things. Public transit has really picked up the slack. BART
is running tremendously (a couple of short closing of the Trans-Bay tube, but
otherwise regular service, extended to help people compensate for the bridge
closing. The busses and ferries are indispensible, and are really doing
a wonderful job.
Finally, I have a lot of stories (I took a bus ride through most of SF
trying to get to the airport, and saw the crowds of tourists leaving the
city (even spoke with many)) which don't belong here, but I'm happy to
talk with anyone who isn't already innundated with stories about the Quake!
Joe Konstan
konstan@postgres.berkeley.edu