Foreword: The circumstances surrounding the Loma Prieta earthquake in California in the fall of 1989 were unique. Yet the threat of further earthquakes is constant. There are valuable lessons to be learned from the Loma Prieta disaster that have much broader application and underscore the importance of the Corps’ readiness mission.
Historian Janet McDonnell has sifted through hundreds of documents and conducted scores of interviews to tell the story of the Corps’ response and the specific missions it per formed for FEMA and other agencies. Her analysis has led to several important conclusions. One is that the Corps is a versatile organization that has tremendous capabilities and can take on missions quickly and execute them extremely well . Dr. McDonnell has also raised several questions that the Corps must resolve for the future.
Our intent in publishing this manuscript is to give the Corps’ leadership and team members who have been or might be involved in emergency planning and operations the benefit of Dr. McDonnell’s analysis and conclusions.
