How Quake Victims Were Helped

ON MAY 23, 1992, the Palm Springs, California, U.S.A., Desert Sun reported “what the fearsome jolt of a 7.5 quake could do to the Coachella Valley.” It said: “The damage could be catastrophic. In one worst-​case scenario prepared for a government study, the quake:

• Kills 5,000 people

• Injures another 15,000

• Renders 50,000 homeless.”

Astoundingly, on Sunday, June 28​—only a few weeks later—​a quake registering 7.5 on the Richter scale rocked the area! But it was centered near the small desert towns of Landers and Yucca Valley, some 40 to 60 miles [60 to 100 km] from the larger towns of the Coachella Valley. No earthquake during the year had been more powerful anywhere in the world. And in California, a state known for its earthquakes, only three during this century had been stronger.

Less powerful quakes have killed thousands. In Armenia, 55,000 died in a 6.8 earthquake in 1988, and one of 6.2 magnitude devastated Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, in 1972, killing over 5,000. California’s quake was many times more powerful, since each number on the Richter scale represents an earthquake ten times as strong as one of the next lower magnitude. Thus, an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude is ten times as strong as one of 6.5.

What casualties and damage did California’s big quake cause? How were victims affected, and how were they helped?

A Morning of Terror

On Saturday night, June 27, the rumbling earth caused some residents around Landers to sleep outdoors. The earthquakes so frightened seven-​year-​old Kelsey Tharp and her four-​year-​old brother that they were permitted to sleep in their parents’ room. “Sunday, at 4:58 a.m.,” said their mother, “a sound like that of a freight train roared through our home. I was hit on the head by our falling lamp; my husband was tossed out of bed. It was as if our home were in a giant popcorn popper. Everything was bouncing.”

Roger Terfehr, who lives a few miles away, explained: “It seemed as if a giant monster were under our house and had grabbed the foundation, shaking it violently. The entire house creaked and swayed. Everything was crashing around us! The shaking seemed to last forever, although later we were told the main quake lasted only 32 seconds.”

Before dawn that Sunday morning, Terry Bogart was on the road to help with construction work on an Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “First I thought that something was wrong with my truck. When I stopped, the truck was literally bouncing. Power lines were swaying, and transformers were exploding.

“I knew I had to get back to my wife and daughters. On Highway 247, I came to places where the road had buckled up several feet. When I stopped to set up flares, a lady with her baby drove up. She asked about road conditions ahead. Dressed only in a housecoat, she appeared to be in shock. I suggested that she follow me home where my wife gave her some clothes and formula for her baby.”

Fritz Grainer, an overseer of Jehovah’s Witnesses, notes: “Everyone was outside when the second quake hit, only about three hours after the first one. It centered near Big Bear, over 30 miles [50 km] to the west. Some of us were at the Bogarts’ home by then. The ground moved in waves under our feet. Later the effect was humorously given the name land surfing.” That quake measured 6.6.

At that moment, Warren and Ernestine Stoker, residents of Yucca Valley, were in St. Petersburg, Russia, where it was late afternoon. They had just returned to their hotel after having attended the final sessions of the convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses when they learned about the quake. They immediately turned on the TV and saw pictures of the destruction that had occurred about a mile from the office building where they work in Yucca Valley.

“While we were watching the telecast,” Ernestine explained, “the Big Bear quake hit. The reporter asked someone off-​camera, ‘Do I get under my desk now? Can I go ahead and continue with the [Landers/​Yucca Valley] earthquake?’” Understandably, the couple were anxious about the welfare of their family and friends and about their property back home.

Not a Worst-​Case Scenario

Almost a thousand miles [1,600 km] away​—in Denver, Colorado, and Boise, Idaho—​motion of the water in swimming pools was reported. Over half a million people were affected by a blackout. Buildings collapsed, chimneys toppled, landslides blocked highways, and the earth split open. One family’s swimming pool was sucked into the ground. It looked like a bomb crater.

Yet, remarkably, only one person was killed in the quakes, a three-​year-​old boy who was struck by debris from a collapsing fireplace at a Yucca Valley home. But over 400 suffered injuries, and property damage was about $100 million. A total of 6,321 homes were damaged, including 595 that were destroyed and 2,119 that suffered major damage. In the Landers Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the homes of ten families were so badly damaged that they couldn’t live in them. Some had travel trailers to move into, and others were invited to stay with fellow Witnesses.

What explains the amazingly low death toll? “The main thing,” noted John Hall, an engineer at the California Institute of Technology, “is that it happened in the middle of nowhere.” And Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson said: “When you think about it, earthquakes don’t kill people. Buildings do. And there are few heavy, big buildings out there.”

Another important reason is that houses in the area are of wood-​frame construction. They move and flex in an earthquake and don’t easily collapse, as have other types of buildings even in less severe earthquakes. Also, the building codes in California are strict, requiring, for example, that homes be bolted to their foundations.

Nevertheless, the quakes left hundreds homeless and thousands without water. Nearly a week later, up to 10,000 persons still had no running water. What was done to help the victims?

What Jehovah’s Witnesses Did

Immediately, as it was becoming light, congregation overseers of Jehovah’s Witnesses were out checking on the welfare of others. Within the hour all in the congregations were accounted for. No one was seriously hurt. The two Kingdom Halls in the area were damaged but were structurally sound.

By midmorning, arrangements had been made to bring in bottled drinking water. The rest of the day was spent making emergency repairs on broken gas lines and determining who was homeless. Yet, even some with structurally sound homes slept outdoors during the nights following the quake.

By noon Monday, 6,000 gallons [23,000 L] of water in a water truck was on site at the Landers Kingdom Hall, as well as 1,000 gallons [3,800 L] of bottled drinking water. The rest of the day was spent delivering water to those in need. It was determined that 47 homes of the Witnesses were damaged​—32 in Landers, 10 in Yucca Valley, and 5 in Joshua Tree. During the week, plans were made to repair these.

Saturday, July 4, was the date set for the work, and congregations in the surrounding area were notified. Local Witnesses made preparations to feed the workers. The police were notified, since roads were still closed. So when Saturday came, the police waved the Witnesses through the roadblocks.

Over 500 volunteers showed up at the Landers and Yucca Valley Kingdom Halls early Saturday morning. There they received work assignments that included electrical repairs, plumbing, cleanup of damage, and the leveling of mobile homes on their foundations.

The following day the front page of the San Bernardino Sun said: “Around Landers, population roughly 4,000, the Jehovah’s Witnesses took the lead in rebuilding.” Reporting on one of the repair projects, the paper said: “Work on the University Boulevard home looked like construction-​on-​the-​run. Two dozen workers speedily straightened walls, built doorways and applied new paneling. All for a congregation family few of the volunteers knew. No matter. The walls went up and the paneling went on.”

When the crews returned to the Kingdom Halls at noon for lunch, it was determined that most of the work on the Witnesses’ homes had been completed. So radio stations KCDZ and KROR were contacted, and they began making announcements that anyone needing assistance could call in, and Jehovah’s Witnesses would repair earthquake damage free of charge.

Many requested assistance. One man needed help to straighten out his storage shed and woodpile. About a dozen Witnesses responded. They took everything out of the shed, cleaned it, and neatly replaced everything. The man was so impressed that a couple of days later on a radio talk show, he praised the Witnesses for their help.

A Witness couple, Jim and Debbie Venoble, noted: “In a disaster, people help you at first, and then you are soon forgotten, but that’s not the case with our Christian brothers and sisters. It has been three weeks now, and they still come by to see if there is anything we need. We learned from this experience that the material things we lost don’t mean very much.”

Steve Porto observed: “We’ve learned a lot from this earthquake and the events that took place after it. The love that has been shown by our fellow Witnesses who came to our aid is proof that we are indeed a worldwide brotherhood.”​—John 13:34, 35.

Stressful Aftershocks

For weeks afterward the earth in the area shook repeatedly and at times violently. Within three weeks, more than 5,000 quakes had been detected; one measured over 6 on the Richter scale, 11 between 5.0 and 5.9, and more than 80 at least 4.0.

A 5.4 aftershock on July 8 reportedly shook 50 homes off their foundations. “It’s pretty stressful,” said construction worker Rick Erickson. “It’s hard to sleep. You don’t know whether the house is going to collapse on you or not.” A few days after the big quake, Billie Bolton said: “I may never go in the house again.” Indeed, a month after the big quake, some were still living in tents, afraid to stay indoors.

Christians recognize earthquakes as part of the sign that Jesus foretold would mark the conclusion of the system of things. So when they see these, along with the many other calamities that were foretold, they do as Jesus instructed: “Raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.”​—Luke 21:28.

[Pictures on page 15]

A three-​foot [0.9 m] rise in the earth occurred just below the house on a hill in Landers, California. Quake forces lifted and ripped apart solid granite

[Picture on page 16]

Quake-​jolted house located two miles [3 km] from epicenter in Yucca Valley, California