Harry Yahata
In the wake of the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, Caltrans commissioned an oral history project to document the personal and professional experiences of Caltrans employees who worked to restore the State’s damaged transportation system. At the time of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, Harry Yahata was a Deputy District Director based out of the California Street Office in District 4. In this interview he explains his role in the work at the Command Center set up at the 150 Oak Street Office in San Francisco. Some of his initial work included working with Skip Young (retired Caltrans volunteer) in setting up a generator to bring power to the building, as well as his work in collecting and managing up-to-date information on damaged highways and bridges. This interview is important due to Harry’s overview of the situation from the central Command Center and his in-depth analysis of how Caltrans personnel managed the crisis caused by the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
Date of Interview
Interviewer
1989-11-27
Jo Ann Cullom
Project
Program/Repository
Loma Prieta Oral History Project
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The city was completely dark, and you had to inch your way across each intersection because there was no signals, no lights…. It was a weird feeling because here is a big city like San Francisco you would expect to be lighted up and so forth and it was completely dark.