emv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti) (10/18/89)
A large earthquake hit the San Francisco bay area at about 5 pm local time. Many people are hurt, the Bay Bridge is damaged, and from what I heard on the radio there was a lot of damage. Phone lines are said to be jammed all over the country -- something like a million calls in the hour immediately following the event. Even Michigan Bell tel. was asking people not to make calls now (even in-state I guess) unless they were absolutely needed. I've created alt.quake here in the hopes that it will help move information around in and out of ca. and get an idea of what has gone on. If you've seen the maps, a fair fraction of the net lives in california, and I'm more than a bit frightened about what may have happened to these people. Anyway, pls. use alt.quake as you see fit. --Ed Edward Vielmetti, U of Michigan math dept.