This report provides a detailed picture of Oakland's ten-day response to the earthquake. It also touches upon the City's recovery process in its earliest stages.

In May and June of 1990 the Oakland office of Emergency Services distributed questionnaires to and held interviews with all City departments. The goals and the questionnaire of the interview were to find out how departments handled their assigned emergency tasks, identify tasks they assumed by default, and learn how they managed their normal workload and initiated recovery.

Questions focused on how departments met the emergency situation, what went right, and new procedures which needed to be developed. Departments were also asked to evaluate the adequacy of the information and guidance they received from the City administration. The last questions focused on what it took for departments to resume normal operations.

The transcribed interviews were sent back to the departments for review and sign off. This report is a summary of those interviews and additional departmental reports prepared since the earthquake.

Each chapter in this report focuses on tasks to be accomplished following the earthquake, rather than what each department did. Results of interviews have been combined to provide an overview of the City's response. However, the experience of a particular department has occasionally been used to illustrate an issue.

Recommendations are provided at the end of each chapter. These recommendations will assist in prioritizing future preparedness efforts and their associated budgets. The department(s) responsible for implementation is indicated in parentheses following the recommendation.