On Oct. 17 35 years ago, a 6.9-magnitude quake tore through the Bay Area, killing 63 people and injuring over 3,700. The big picture: The Loma Prieta earthquake was centered in Santa Cruz County on a section of the San Andreas fault.

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. On Oct. 17, 1989, an earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude struck Northern California, killing 63 people and causing up to $10 billion worth of damage. In California, it was the first big quake. For many readers, this earthquake was memorable for one reason: baseball.

You really don’t know when there’s going to be another significantly damaging earthquake, but we know it’s going to happen.”