Page 231 - chs-1990

DEVASTATING

DISASTERS

At 5:04p.m. on October 17, the earth shook in northern California. An earthquake that measured 7.0
on the Richter Scale destroyed parts of Oakland, San Francisco, and surrounding areas. More than
60 were killed, hundreds were injured and the damage topped $2 billion. Despite this fatal catastro·
phe, it could have been even worse. If the earthquake had occured a couple of hours earlier, the
number of people killed would probably have been greater, as thousands and thousands of people
poured over the San Francisco bridges to watch the World Series - the Oakland A's vs. the San
Francisco Giants. The desperate attempt to rescue the injured in smashed cars and collapsed
houses were intensely watched by the whole nation as rescue parties risked their lives and became
heroes.

It was the worst oil spill in history. The Alaska oil spill occured on
March 24, 1989, when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in
Prince William Sound. The captain of the ship, Joseph Hazelwood,
Hurricane Hugo swept through the Caribbean and slowly made its way to the coast of the United
w1th a previous record of 2 DUI convictions, had a 0. 19 blood
States. It hit Charleston, S.C. where the 135 m.p.h. winds caused billions of dollars in damage. Hugo
alcohol content when the accident happened.
threatened Columbia County, but luckily passed by after dumping buckets of rain. The Junior College
closed, but CHS kept on rocking.

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