I wasn’t back from Paris very long when I had an opportunity to take some earthquake photos in Napa.
I live in a high-rise in San Francisco and I was woken up at 3:20 am by my building shaking and swaying back and forth. Scary. Very scary. My first instinct was to go take some photos. My second instinct was to go back to bed. I went back to bed.
When I got up, I headed to Napa, where most of the damage took place. There were plenty of media and onlookers present, but everything was pretty calm when I was expecting it to be a zoo.
Some shops just had minor indoor damage, such as this olive oil shop. The floor looked slippery, but it sure smelled good in there.
I chatted it up with the sheriff for a while, then proceeded to cross the police line. He must have thought I was press.
The old courthouse took a big hit, as did this car.
Perhaps some people will take the message on this awning more seriously after today, which may include further diligence about earthquake preparations.
After surveying the downtown area, I ventured into the neighborhoods to check out the road damage. I was told that skateboarders had been using this spot as a ramp.
Many of the cracks in the road had already been repaired by the time I got there, or were in the process.
I was so focused on the road damage, that I almost tripped on the sidewalk, where the damage was even more extensive.
Luckily, no one died, though there were over a hundred people injured. Let’s hope there are no major aftershocks in the hours or days ahead.