Quake Perspective

Your coverage of the San Francisco earthquake has been excellent. I was one of the residents who suffered property damage from the Whittier earthquake in 1987 and have just finished restoring my property to its original condition. As I saw the photographs of the collapsed Nimitz Freeway and the four-story buildings in the Marina district literally flattened to one story along with the lives that were lost, it really puts into perspective the value of one’s life over material possessions.

How many billions of dollars will have to be spent to restore the Bay Area back to its original condition and what are we now facing in terms of retrofitting present structures to make them safe for future earth movement? It is interesting to note in subsequent articles how people are trying to put the blame for some of the casualties on someone else--someone who perhaps built the structure, issued the permits to build or didn’t inspect the structure in a timely manner. The list goes on and on. What is done is done. Perhaps we should stop trying to find someone to blame and just get the work done before more lives are lost.

ANITA ORTEGA

Montebello