The Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989, had a Richter magnitude of 7.1 and caused billions of dollars in damage throughout the San Francisco Bay region and in Santa Cruz County. As part of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) various Federal, state and regional programs have been carried out in past years to promote the implementation of local-level earthquake preparedness and loss reduction activities. The Loma Prieta earthquake provides the opportunity to examine the specific lessons local agency staff have learned through having their preparedness plans and loss reduction programs tested by a major earthquake in the region. Agency staff selected from approximately 35 jurisdictions in seven Bay region counties will be asked whether their mitigation efforts were effective or were likely to be effective in future earthquakes, whether the earthquake has caused them to change their pre-quake programs and plans, and what information sources and program guidance they now think are the most useful. The implications of the findings for setting local-level priorities for mitigation activities, and for the design of Federal, state and regional programs to foster local level hazard mitigation activities are addressed.
