Aftermath: The Loma Prieta Earthquake

As California marks 25 years since the deadly Loma Prieta earthquake, take a look back. The quake killed 63 people and injured thousands of others in the San Francisco Bay area.

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AP
In this photo taken Oct. 17, 1989, motorists turn their cars around and wait to drive back to San Francisco after the upper deck of the Bay Bridge collapsed onto the lower deck in the Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco.
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Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake October 17, 1989.
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A U. S. Marine guard watches the earthquake-damaged area of San Francisco, Cal., October 17, 1989, to avoid thieving.
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General view of debris after the earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale.
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A worker tries to clear a drain to release backed up water from broken mains and firefighting efforts in the Marina District of San Francisco Wednesday morning, Oct. 18, 1989.
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Rescue dogs are brought into position to begin searches of destroyed houses in the Marina district of San Francisco, Wednesday morning, October 18, 1989, after a strong earthquake caused widespread damage.
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Firefighters put out fires as some buildings smoulder while others are off their foundations in the Marina District of San Francisco, Ca., after the massive earthquake, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 1989.
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A bulldozer brings down a damaged apartment complex in the Marina district of San Francisco, Ca., as people watch from the roof of another building, Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 18, 1989.
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General view of debris after the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the richter scale.
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Search and rescue support workers Tim Schilwachder (L) and Mamdouch Shabaan embrace 21 October 1989 by the Cypress Structure above 28th and Cypress Sts, shortly after a man was rescued alive there.
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Cranes surround the Cypress Structure on Interstate 880 October 19, 1989 in San Francisco, following the earthquake.
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Two firefighters scale a ladder Wednesday, Oct. 18, 1989 to survey the wreckage of an apartment in San Francisco's Marina district. The temblor caused severe damage to many parts of the Bay area.
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Paul Barwick, right, hands a television set to his friend Frank (last name not given) as they help a resident of the Marine district remove valuables from his braced up home Friday, Oct. 21, 1989 in San Francisco. Residents were given 15 minutes to take items from their earthquake damaged homes, many of which were demolished.
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Search and rescue support workers continue rescue efforts 21 October 1989 atop the Cypress Structure above 28th and Cypress Sts, shortly after a man was rescued alive there.
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A general view of the freeway in Oakland after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on October 18, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The game was postponed for 10 days.
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Sherman Chen searches through what is left of the family home in the Marina district of San Francisco Tuesday, Oct. 24, 1989. The home was so unstable after the earthquake that it was torn down before family members could remove any valuables. Chen searched until police forced him to leave the area.
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A general view of a street in San Francisco after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to World Series game three between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants on Oct. 18, 1989 at Candlestick Park.
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A bridge worker checks bolt hole alignment and readies to attach a support fro I-beams that will span the gaping hole created in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge October 17 by the earthquake.
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Jim Vallas, Cal Trans residents engineer, right, discusses progress of repair on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Friday, Nov. 3, 1989, Oakland, Calif. This section was dislodged in the October 17 earthquake. Some supports for I-beams that will span the break are in place and can be seen on both decks at T-s. Steel I-beams have been delivered to the site.
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This aerial view is the last standing section of the nearby-demolished Cypress section of the I-800 Nimitz freeway, Jan. 11, 1990, Oakland, Calif. 42 people lost their lives on the freeway. The standing section was used for seismic testing and was gone by the end of January, 1990.
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Paramedics and police remove one of victims of the collapse of the Cypress freeway at the height of commute traffic, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 1989, Oakland, Calif.
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A burned out vehicle lies at the base of a broken column that once supported two decks of the Cypress freeway, Oct. 18, 1989, Oakland, Calif.
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Vendor Nicole Verment of Spokane, Wash., was doing a brisk business on Hegenberger Rd. near the Oakland Coliseum with this T-shirt: I Survived The Great Quake, Thursday, Oct. 19, 1989, Oakland, Calif.
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Bob Kubiatowicz, left, and John Wooliscroft look at whats left of a neighbors home, Friday, Oct. 21, 1989, Boulder Creek, Calif. Kubiatowiczs home was untouched while Wooliscrofts suffered the same fate as that pictured. All three homes are on the same mountainside road.
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Juanito Garcia, center, whose home was severely damaged by Tuesdays earthquake, eats outside the temporary quarters of his family, Saturday, Oct. 21, 1989, Watsonville, Calif. Hundreds of the areas residents were forced to move into tent shelters following the quake.
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Glen Ward, on wing, unloads his aircraft and passes relief supplies from man to a flatbed truck at the airport, Sunday, Oct. 23, 1989 Watsonville, Calif. Ward, who makes 8-9 round trips per day, is one of many private pilots that fly in needed good for earthquake victims.
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Erica Alfaro, center, dishes up lunch for her cousin Sergio Alfaro under a tent as rain falls at a relief center, Monday, Oct. 24, 1989, Watsonville, Calif. The 6.9 earthquake destroyed their home. Marylou Ortiz uses a blanket, rear, to protect her from the rain as she walks through the mud to a tent made of plastic sheeting.
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Rubble litters the ground as workers continue to tear down a section of the I-880 Cypress structure, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 1989, Oakland, Calif. The demolition allowed evacuated families to move back into their homes following the earthquake.
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The demolition of the I-880 Cypress structure and its dangerous proximity to the residences of West Oakland are mirrored in the glasses of Oakland Housing Authority police officer Price Holbert who wears a fiber mask to protect him from heavy dust, Oct. 26, 1989, Oakland, Calif.
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Workers add one of the last sections of the lower deck of the Bay Bridge, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 1989, Oakland, Calif. This section of the bridge collapsed during the October 17 earthquake.
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AP
In this file photo taken Oct. 17, 1989 firefighters battle a blaze in the Marina District of San Francisco after the earthquake.
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Football fans arriving Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New England patriots contribute to earthquake relief organizations outside Stanford Stadium, Oct. 23, 1989. The game was moved to Stanford while to allow workers time to repair Candlestick Park, the 49ers home field, and prepare it for the World Series games which were postponed by the quake.
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Suzanne Kleiman, a resident of San Francisco's Marina district holds up a pair of panty hose she found while searching through the rubble of her demolished home, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 1989. Kleiman was one of many residents who continued to search for their belongings in their earthquake-damaged homes before the rubble was hauled away.
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Suzanne Kleiman, a resident of San Francisco's Marina district, Oct. 26, 1989, climbs down from the remains of what was once her home, after searching for some of her belongings Wednesday.
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Workers use lumber to shore up a quake-damaged building in San Francisco's Marina district, Sunday, Oct 23, 1989 to prevent it from collapsing.
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With children in strollers, pets on leashes and belongings under arm, a family leaves its earthquake-damaged home in San Francisco's Marine district, Thursday, Oct. 28, 1989. Residents were allowed to return to damaged buildings which were determined to be structurally safe to retrieve their belongings.
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A group of people stand in the South of Market street, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 1989 in San Francisco, where five people died under a torrent of bricks when the 15-second quake two weeks ago wrenched off the top of a four-storey building in San Francisco.
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